


Treachery

by unbarred



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dom Harry Styles, Drinking, Gun Violence, M/M, Power Bottom Zayn, Prostitute!Zayn, Rape, Smut, fluff and then smut, hitman!Harry, oh yeah and, some fucked up shit, thats definitely it, theres a lot of that, umm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 20:41:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 43,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbarred/pseuds/unbarred
Summary: the one where Zayn is a prostitute and Harry kills for a living





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic surrounds the use of gun violence and abduction (its bottom zayn btw so if you're not into that don't read i guess)  
> Firstly if you are not comfortable reading or just don't want to read about any of the above whether it be the pairing or major subjects in the book you are free to like not read it.  
> 
> 
> This book is a work of fiction and therefore does not associate itself, the characters or any of the following events with the members of One Direction, neither am I nor the book expressing that any of the band members are homosexual or in a relationship with one another so chill okay? cool  
> 
> 
> This is a trigger warning for those who need it: I am in no way promoting gun violence, or any type of violence for that matter, nor abuse, drugs, or rape. (There is one very brief rape scene, it does not go into detail but is needed as part of the story so I will separate those paragraphs from the rest so it is identifiable and can be skipped if you are not comfortable reading it). 
> 
> There's (blink and you miss it) larry stylinson. I don't ship them but they became part of the story so what can you do. They're exes for like ten seconds so idk you can skip those parts or just dont read the book idc this is just for fun tbh. ALSO THIS FIC IS SUPER FUCKING EXTRA. 
> 
> enjoy ok bye.

"Good?" The Pakistani man adjusted the collar of his sable dress shirt, giving a pointed look at the reflection of his best friend in the mirror. "Earth to Ethan hello- look should I not do this because if you want me to stay home I mean, I'll do it." He turns to face his friend with a soft sigh, taking his bottom lip between his teeth anxiously, his gaze locking with the darker pair of brown eyes.

"Zayn you look fine and you've got this." Ethan gives the taller boy a reassuring smile before resting his hands on Zayn's chest to lean up and press a quick kiss to his cheek. "You're going to kick ass and once you get home we'll celebrate yeah?" There's a comfortable yet eerie silence as the two boys stare into each other's eyes, faint smiles and all to put the other at ease before Zayn pulls his best friend into a tight hug, pressing his face to Ethan's shoulder with eyes squeezed shut. That was the last time he ever saw Ethan again.

There's a loud ringing in his ears when Zayn enters the Town Danceboutique. And it's not the blaring music that's so loud he can't seem to hear himself think, or the male strippers grinding against their assigned poles with a sway to their hips as they maneuver their bodies in a sexual manner. It's odd for him to be this uneasy about an assignment, more than odd actually, unusual. Zayn is usually pegged for calm and serene but today, his body is tense and heart is racing. He'd read over the files about his "client" close to 100 times last night and this guy was a force to be reckoned with, he'd never been given an assignment so vile in nature. He takes a seat at the bar, choosing to stay sober and just asked for a bottle of water from the bartender who smiles then goes about, fulfilling his order. Almost immediately, there's a large hand on the small of his back and Zayn tilts his head up to be met with a pair of piercing green eyes, matched with a charming smile, teeth glowing with white. Mr. Mcdreamy eyes takes a seat beside the olive skinned man that had caught his eye the second he walked into the gay night club and sauntered towards the bar.

"Hi," The stranger grins, dimples protruding his cheeks as he runs a hand through his mane of long curly locks, pushing his bangs away from his eyes. "My name's Harry-, Harry Styles. But you probably already knew that. You must be my toy for the night." Harry sucks in a breath as his eyes begin to trail along the younger boy's captivating jaw, up to his gel slicked raven hair and back to the honey brown eyes that seemed to be glistening beneath those long lashes. "You're gorgeous.."

"Actually it's just Zayn but gorgeous works too." He says, revealing his real name because he knew Harry hated liars but he did love egotistic flirts. Zayn shoots him a smug smile that threatens to fade when there's a terrifying look of lust in the older man's green eyes and that's when things seem to dawn on him quickly. This was a terrible idea.

"Well gorgeous," Harry says, his speech slow before he pauses briefly to take Zayn's noticeably shaking hand in his, setting his drink down on the counter to lean over by the nervous boy's ear. "Why don't we cut the foreplay hm? My car's parked in the front and this beautiful body of yours is begging me to be wrecked." The hand that was resting on Zayn's thigh is now palming his crotch a little rougher than he'd like, eliciting an unwanted moan that tells Harry he wants more when really he doesn't, he just wants to go home because this is much more than Zayn had bargained for.

"I'm um.." Zayn turns away when Harry dips his head to kiss him, resting a hand on the older man's bicep to move the hand that's threatening to slip into his jeans. "That sounds great Harry but I'm gonna head to the bathroom first? I'll meet you back here." He looks up into those dangerously emerald eyes with a reassuring smile that's faint but it works for Harry who sits back on his stool to let Zayn maneuver past him towards the bathrooms. When the frantic boy is deep into the crowd of men and out of Harry's sight, he makes a sharp turn for the back doors because god knows he's not spending one more second with that sadistic maniac. It's what he was assigned to do, yes but when words such as "Insatiable", "Threatening", and "Unstable" appear on a person's file, Zayn isn't very keen on meeting them. He pushes past the double doors and steps out into the night, breathing in the cool fresh air as his eyes fall shut, body beginning to relax slowly. He shoves his hands in his jean pockets and starts to walk down the alleyway away from the building but panic floods his senses when a hand is pressed over his mouth, stopping him in his tracks.

"I'm not a very patient person Zayn, did I tell you that?" A low voice mumbles by his ear quietly. Zayn knew that. His first instincts are to knock the back of his head against Harry's forehead to get the older man to release his grip before grabbing his arm to flip his larger body over onto the ground but Harry is not only strong but quick. He wraps his arm around Zayn's neck in a tight choke hold and pulls what seems to be a tissue from his pocket, pressing it to the struggling boy's nose and mouth. It's not long before chloroform fills his lungs and shuts down his entire body that Harry releases his hold on the smaller boy and Zayn's nearly unconscious body drops into his arms. He looks up, his eyes half lidded as Harry's long chocolate curls drape over his face and brushing along his cheek. Harry is neither smiling nor frowning, his face is stoic and just before Zayn's eyes roll to the back of his head he hears the words, "I don't take rejection lightly Zayn Malik."

Zayn knew that.


	2. Chapter 2

You could stay within these walls and bleed

"I usually don't have to ask for anything twice, so let's hope you're not a special case yeah?" Zayn can't put a face to the voice. His vision is blurry and for some reason he can't seem to move his limbs. A head of feathered brown hair comes into view as Zayn's eyes adjusts to the dim lighting. The man is more of a boy than a man really, and short of reaching 5'8 even with the hair. "Who are you working for sweetheart, it's a simple question just list off an organization, agency, whichever you want. The CIA, FBI, State Police, none of the above-" He rambles on waving the silver combat knife he held between his fingers around before taking a few steps towards the restrained boy and leaning down to look into his eyes, their faces barely an inch apart. "But answer none of the above and I will gut you like a pig."

Zayn shakes his head furiously because he's completely clueless as to what's happening and why he still cannot feel his limbs. "W-what are you talking about, I don't work for anybody- well I do but-"

"Just because I slit the throats of two men and one teenage boy today, I'm going to deflect off some bad karma and ask you again." He glares into the frightened boy's eyes with his own piercing blue ones before raising an index and middle finger over Zayn's carotid artery on his neck pressing gently. "Who. do you work for."

"Luxure! It's a company, that's who I work for, I'm an escort!" Zayn cries out, his eyes squeezing shut as if all this could disappear if he thought hard enough. The pair of eyes glaring down at him seem to narrow before the assailant drops his fingers from the side of Zayn's windpipe, mumbling a quiet 'jesus'. "It's actually Zayn but 'Jesus' works great."

"You're telling the truth.." He stands back, shaking his head slightly, his lips parted.

"Of course he's telling the truth, you've gone and terrified him Louis." Zayn shifts his eyes quickly to a head of chocolate brown curls appearing at the door. He walks into the room with yet another homicidal maniac in tow who immediately walks over to the wall, leaning against it. "Now untie him and get that damn paralytic hooked off." Harry rolls his eyes and Zayn can barely turn his head but he can see an I.V from the corner of his eyes, feeding a clear liquid into his body which in turn caused the numbness in his arms and legs. Fantastic.

"I actually like him tied up like that." A voice speaks up from the wall and Zayn flickers his eyes to the stranger who's name hadn't come up in conversation yet. The corner of his lips tug up in a malevolent smirk and the Pakistani boy looks away immediately, instead focusing on Louis who was complaining rather loudly.

"You went an' got a fucking stripper again Harry?" Louis sighs exasperatedly, ripping off the tubes connecting Zayn's body to the I.V's a little too roughly before unlocking all of his handcuffs except the ones binding his wrists. "Liam's going to have your fucking head." There's a grin on Harry's lips, but only for a second before the scowling man turns around and walks out the door quickly, heading down the dimly lit hallway.

"You know, I don't blame Harry at all." The stranger's voice came again and this time Zayn doesn't look over at him. Just watches Louis gather up all the equipment he'd wasted. "This one's pretty."

"Well I don't feel objectified at all." Zayn grumbles as he regains the feeling in his hands, squeezing his fingers into fists.

"Isn't your entire job objectifying? and you know atrocious?-"

"Yeah well by my understanding you murder innocent people for a living, so don't fucking talk to me about atrocious"

"I am this close to shoving my pistol up both your asses." Louis glares pointedly, before dragging most of the equipment out with him, sending one last hard stare at Zayn. "Caleb, you're on guard duty." As soon as he's gone, Caleb pushes himself off the wall and walks up to the pakistani boy, wrapping a large hand around Zayn's throat with a low growl.

"If you ever speak to me like that again-"

(RAPE SCENE, DO NOT READ UNLESS COMFORTABLE)

"What, you'll kill me too?" Zayn spits, tilting his head slightly as he glares back into the dark pair of brown eyes. Caleb raises his eyebrow because no one has ever spoken back to him ever, not even a hostage and certainly not a whore. He smirks, his bottom lip caught between his teeth and fists Zayn's hair, picking him up off his chair before walking him over to one of the walls. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry please stop" The trembling boy cries out as his head is smashed against the concrete over and over and over. Zayn doesn't know how many times he feels his temple hit the wall but he does know there's tears sliding down from his jaw to his button up shirt. It's not long before Caleb releases the grip on his hair letting him drop to the floor but there's this look in the man's eye that Zayn doesn't like when he stares up at the hovering figure above him. "I'm sorry.. I said I was sorry, don't! Somebody help me, stop!" He tries to crawl away but two binded wrists can be quite restraining so he finds himself being dragged backwards, jeans and boxers tugged down roughly and Zayn's now bare ass is up in the air. The sound of a zipper being pulled down is loud in his ears, almost piercing. He'd never experienced this before. His job was dangerous, yes but he read and reread files before accepting anything. He feels the tip of Caleb's cock barely brushing his entrance before he pushes forcefully into the smaller boy who lets a loud cry, tears spilling onto the bare ground. "S-stop! Please stop, please" Zayn finds himself begging for the hundredth time but nothing happens, nothing changes and it's a few minutes in when his body goes numb once again but wihout the paralytic. He's focusing on the wall across from him, specifically on the slight change in shade from one gray stone to the next. And that's how Zayn spends his first night as a hostage. Laying on the floor, letting a man violating him for his own sick pleasure. Of course the tears never stop but Zayn's face is stoic and he can't feel a thing.

Or just stay with me


	3. Chapter 3

Lonely, lonely so you think that you know me

"Hey!" A voice comes pouring into Zayn's ears and his eyes shoot open, startled at the angry emerald eyes that are inches away from his own frightened ones. From Harry's view, Zayn's entire body was battered and bloody; a trickle of blood running from his forehead where it'd been repeatedly smashed against the concrete wall. He'd originally been found on the floor, curled up and unconscious but Harry quickly picked up the boy into his arms, setting him down in the chair again. "I said, who did this to you?" The man's rough voice rings in Zayn's ears as a large hand tangles in his short jet black hair, tugging aggressively. All that escapes past the Pakistani's lips is a whimper but Harry watches the glistening hazel eyes drift towards the far wall and turns his head quickly, narrowing his eyes at Caleb as he releases the grip on Zayn's hair.

"Harry." Louis speaks firmly from where he's leaning against the cell door as Caleb presses his body back against the wall looking seemingly small in comparison to Harry's towering height. It's odd because he doesn't stop in his tracks at the sound of Louis' easing tone as usual. The man with the feathered hair pushes himself up from the door in shock and in one swift move Harry pulls a gun from the back of his dark skinny jeans, pulling down the safety as well as the trigger. Zayn watches Caleb's body drop to the ground with a heavy thud, a pool of blood spreading quickly from his chest. "Harry what the hell?!" Louis exclaims in anger, his jaw clenching as the curly haired lad removes the rosary hanging from his neck and lets it slip from his fingers onto Caleb's lifeless body. He locks the safety on his gun and slips it in the back of his jeans once again before turning around to face Louis in a stoic manner.

"Clean this up." He speaks with a gruff tone, gesturing just to the body and ever increasing pool of blood but to Zayn as well who's been sitting surprisingly quiet through it all. Zayn who didn't even flinch when he watched Harry pull that trigger. Louis' lips part in shock as the taller man walks past him and out of the small cell with cold eyes. His foot steps echoed for what seemed to be ages while Louis and Zayn stared at each other in silence before the sound of booted heels on cement disappeared with distance.

~

Zayn winces and bites down on his pink bottom lip as Louis cleans the gash in his temple with cotton and some rubbing alcohol. They'd been sitting like this for about an hour now; Zayn in his usual chair and Louis on a stool facing him, cleaning the cuts and tending to the bruises littered across his tanned olive skin. A group of men had come into the cell earlier to haul Caleb's body away. Louis had seen a small smile spread across Zayn's lips and maybe he'd pressed a little harder on the bruise beneath the smirking boy's left eye.

"It was his best friend." Louis speaks up to break the escalating tension growing within the silence in the room. Zayn watches the man's eyes with confusion, furrowing his brows slightly and flinched again once Louis begins to stitch up the numbed area. "Caleb was Harry's best friend since highschool. Most of us had known him since highschool and now Harry's gone and shot him for a stranger. Shot him for a whore."

"Ow, he raped me!" Zayn exclaims in pain with a frown as Louis tugs at the thread a little too hard for his liking, continuing to stitch up his temple. "Why are you so surprised anyway?"

"That Harry killed him without even the slightest hesitation?" Louis rolled his eyes, dropping his hands from Zayn's head to fix his gaze with the darker boy. "Don't act like you know shit about Harry just because you went through his file or whatever the fuck you people do with clients. You've been here 12 hours, I've been with him 12 years. Harry isnt a fucking serial killer, he does what he's told and what is necessary. What he did today was impulsive and uncharacteristic. He has never once killed one of his own. He has never refused to listen to me before so yes I am surprised."

Zayn swallows thickly, shifting in his chair nervously and sucks in a breath as Louis gets back to patching up his temple, parting his lips to speak quietly. "Do you really think he did it because of me?"

"Of course not, his sister was raped and killed as a little girl." Louis says casually and Zayn looks up at him horrified at the explanation but the man just rolls his electric blue eyes in a sarcastic demeanor. "It's just bullshit, what do you think he has some cliche depressing back story? And for your information, Caleb has done what he did to you to all of Harry's sluts so don't think this was about you because it wasnt." Louis states. His tone had gotten rather blunt and agressive since they'd first started the conversation. Almost a sense of jealousy. He finishes up the stitch and stands up from the stool, picking it up off the floor before heading towards the door without another word.

"Why did he drop that rosary?" Zayn speaks up once again and Louis stops in his tracks, turning his head to stare back at the annoyingly curious boy. "Before he left, he dropped a rosary on Caleb's body, is he religious?"

Louis chuckles, shaking his head slowly. "He does that with every body, I don't know why. And trust me, if I don't know, there's no way on earth he'd ever tell you."

You're the only one who knows who I am


	4. Chapter 4

Though far be it from you to be calm, our house was Vietnam

"What did I say about bringing whores in here?" Liam strides over to Harry as he's taking apart his gun to empty the bullets. With a roll of his emerald eyes, the younger lad looks up from his pistol, meeting Liam's own brown ones.

"I believe the word you're looking for is escort" Harry smiles, dimples and all prompting Liam to glare in annoyance. Harry has a very sarcastic demeanor about him that really can't be overlooked. His sense of dark humour is alluring but for those who know him well can get irritating on a daily basis. "Besides you never care when I bring people here."

"Yes until you shot one of your men." Liam responds sternly.

"Caleb raped him."

"Caleb rapes everyone!" The older lad responds and Harry raises his eyebrow, Liam rolling his brown eyes in disgruntled agreement. "Okay so he deserved it but no more bringing strippers into this place."

"You mean exotic dancers." Harry states, flickering his eyes back to the pistol he's got laying on one of the many computer desks around the room and picks it up, putting each part back together again.

"Look Harry." Liam steps much too close for comfort, glaring into the pair of forest green eyes that had flickered back at him. "Your father spent a lot of time building this place up from the ground-"

"My father is dead." Harry says reloading his hand gun and just like that tone changes. The cold metal of his ring rests against the pistol as his index finger grazes the trigger. "You may be my superior but the next time you bring up my father I will blow your fucking brains out." He promises, tapping the head of his gun against his temple and Liam nods lightly in understanding before sauntering off somewhere else. That's how Harry managed to rule this place and everyone in it. With fear.

~

There's a knock at the door of Harry's study that causes him to look up from his book with an annoyed sigh. He mumbles a 'come in', the door opening to reveal Zayn his "exotic dancer" with hands cuffed behind his back and one of Harry's men standing guard. The mysterious boy has got stitches running up along his left temple, stopping at his forehead and his hair disheveled from when Harry last saw him. He's got the same clothes on from last night but that doesn't make him any less pretty.

Harry smiles, dimples protruding from his cheeks before sending the guard off who closes the door behind him. Zayn doesn't move from where he's standing, noticeably shaking with fear. This prompts Harry to narrow his eyes, setting his book on the arm of the single couch. He rests his hand over his chin, pointer finger pressing to his pink lips and Zayn can see a sliver of what seems to be an anchor tattooed onto his wrist, peeking from the sleeve of his dress shirt. He's also got a new rosary on, an exact replica of the old one. "You seem nervous."

"Well yeah this is the part where I die isn't it?" Zayn laughs anxiously and his English accent is thick, the 't's at the end of words being barely pronounced. Harry wants to stroke his own cock and make Zayn talk all day. "Your friend Louis, he said I'd be dead in 24 hours."

There's a silence in the room as Zayn looks everywhere but into Harry's eyes. He's scared he'll turn to stone or something. Ironically, Harry's full attention is on Zayn. He imagines the boy beneath him, head tipped back and lips parted just a bit. Gasps escaping his mouth as Harry hits all the right spots. "Come here."

Zayn swallows hard and takes a few steps forward until his legs are pressed up against Harry's. He lets out a shaky breath before deciding to take matters into his own hands. If he wanted to get out of here this was the only way. The exotic boy straddles Harry's lap with a soft smile, his gaze flickering from the book sitting on the arm of the chair to the green eyes locked on him. "What are you reading?" Zayn asks and his voice is much more confident than before, much more titillating.

"Captive in the Dark by C.J Roberts. Heard of it?" Harry responds, resting his large hands on Zayn's hips and he's got this air of arrogance about him that threatens to slip when the beautiful boy grinds his clothed cock against Harry's own bulge.

"Yes I have actually. Heard it's only for people who get turned on by the Saw movies." This earns a chuckle from Harry and Zayn's leaning down to trail his lips along his sharp jawline until they press to the older man's ear. "I'm not surprised you're reading it." He murmurs and sucks on the skin beneath Harry's ear, eliciting the sexiest groan Zayn has ever heard that gets him hard in less than a second. He's taken by surprise when Harry turns his head to catch the younger boy's lips between his, a heat rushing through their bodies as large hands tug the smaller body closer. Harry wants more; he's slipping his tongue past Zayn's lips with a low groan, whereas the latter has forgotten what he'd initially planned before he'd gotten in here.

It's too late when Zayn feels a sharp pain in his arm, causing him to bite down on Harry's bottom lip instinctively. He pulls away and cries out, profanities escaping his lips. When he looks over at his arm there's a small pocket knife lodged into the muscle, blood dripping from where it'd entered. "Now where did you get that from?" Harry smiles, dimples and all. When Zayn shifts his gaze to meet the pair of emerald eyes, there's blood trickling from the smirking man's bottom lip and onto his chin but he doesn't seem at all fazed. Harry pulls the knife out roughly, Zayn screaming once more in agony and trying to catch his breath as tears sting his eyes. He'd picked the switch blade off one of the men and slipped it in the back of his black jeans but what he hadn't counted on was Harry being so grabby. Even worse he'd gotten distracted when the lad had kissed him so suddenly. "Didn't think this through did you?"

"I'm getting out of here." Zayn spits through clenched teeth and Harry gives him an amused smile. It's obnoxious and sexy and irritating all at the same time.

"I'd love to watch you try."

~

"I'm here, what do you wa- what did you do." Louis crosses his arms when Harry turns around in his study, a bloody piece of cotton pressed to his bottom lip.

"There's something wrong with me." Harry says in his deep voice, staring at Louis helplessly who shuts the door behind him carefully and walks up to his best friend with concern. Harry removes the cotton from his bottom lip revealing the bite mark Zayn had left and shakes his head at a shocked Louis. "I kissed him."

"You what?" There's a silence between them before Louis starts again slowly. "You haven't done that since.."

"Since us I know."

"That was a long time ago Harry and even then you didn't kiss me until weeks after we started dating." Louis shakes his head in disbelief. This was so unlike Harry to just kiss people he'd just met. He never got that intimate. Especially after him and Louis had ended it in highschool. Intimacy meant attachment, and that was something Harry wanted to stay as far away from as possible. "Do you like this guy?"

"God no I've barely met him. He's just so.. intriguing and sexy. He manages to vacillate from being nervous and innocent to confident and mesmerizing in a matter of seconds. I just got caught up in the moment and kissed him then he tried to fucking kill me." Harry rolls his eyes, leaning against his desk on one arm. "Kinda ruined the mood."

"Speaking of murder, you never asked how our good friend Caleb is doing." Louis chimes in sarcastically, Harry groaning loudly for emphasis of course because he knew Louis was going to chew him out at some point today. "You've known him since highschool. You convinced him to work with you to get the money for his mum's medications, how is he any good to his mum now if he's dead?!"

"Why is everyone in this god forsaken place so ignorant? Let's all forget that he's been dehumanizing every person I bring in here and traumatizing them because he lets his cock think for him." Harry speaks and Louis scoffs in response.

"You're the one who tied them up and throws them in your trunk only to fuck 'em and kill them 24 hours later."

"I'm sorry who came up with the 'anyone who finds out about our super secret headquarters must be killed' policy? I believe that was you." Harry points an accusatory finger at his best friend who chuckles dryly and shakes his head.

"He was my best friend too you know that right? In case the whore is blinding you from the fact that I was in your little circle of friends too."

"His name is Zayn." Harry glares and it should be instilling fear in the angry brunette but Louis stands his ground.

"It has been here less than 24 hours and is already causing trouble." That's when Harry narrows his eyes, his jaw clenched in anger when he hears Louis use 'it' as a pronoun to depict Zayn.

"His name is Zayn. I oughta put a fucking bullet in your head for even uttering those words." This doesn't even faze Louis. Instead the man walks up to Harry, eyes determined.

"I have known you since fresh man year. I know what makes you melt between my fingers, I know all your darkest secrets, I know what makes you fucking tick, you would shoot yourself before thinking of pointing that pistol at me." And with that Louis turns, heading out of the room leaving Harry in an eerie silence. He reaches up brushing his fingers against his bottom lip before dropping it again, shutting his eyes softly.

both of us put together can form an atomic bomb equivalent to Chemical warfare


	5. Chapter 5

I know they'll be coming to find me soon

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Louis yells turning the corner to glare at Harry from across the long hall of cells, hands on his hips and all. He makes his way down the hall to find his best mate leaning against Zayn's cell, arms between the steel bars and folded loosely. "What is he still doing here."

"Oh so it's a he now?" The man shifts his gaze to look up at Louis with fierce green eyes before they flicker back to the sleeping boy who seems uncomfortable with his head tilted against his shoulder and wrists cuffed to the arms of the wooden chair. Harry watches his parted lips in awe, soft breathes escaping them before he shifts his attention to the long lashes barely brushing the captive boy's tan cheeks. He's enchanted because no one could possibly look this good everyday without effort. He's too astonished to care that Louis is nagging his ear off.

When Zayn flutters his eyes open, Harry mumbles a quiet 'shut up' and places a large hand over his friend's mouth, to which he gets a bite into his palm and winces, pulling the hand away quickly. Louis grunts and turns away from the cell to face the wall, crossing his arms in annoyance because this one boy was being a nuisance without even trying.

"You're so mesmerizing when you sleep." Harry speaks as Zayn is sitting up and the Bradford born boy gives his captor a charming smile.

"Yeah? I'm even more mesmerizing when I sleep comfortably." This earns a chuckle from Harry and from where he's standing Louis can see his best friend from his peripherals. He's grinning, dimples and all but there's a spark in those emerald eyes that Louis hasn't seen in a long time.

"About that I think it's time we get you out of here and staying with me." Harry says casually to which both boys respond with an 'excuse me' simultaneously, Louis more shocked than the latter. He grabs Harry by his bicep, dragging him to the opposite wall, his jaw clenched.

"Have you gone mental?!" Louis whisper shouts and the taller man shrugs too casually almost like this hadn't been spontaneous at all because Harry isn't a spontaneous character. He's organized. He plans before doing, thinks before acting. Doesn't necessarily ask before shooting but that's just a minor flaw in his persona.

"Well he needs to clean up and shit so I figured why not?"

"He's going to be dead who cares if his asscheeks are clean or not?!" Louis argues but H just remains silent not meeting his gaze. The former raises his eyebrow and repeats the question this time in a more pressing tone before he drops his hand from around Harry's bicep. "Why are you keeping him here?"

"I just wanna know if his lips are just as good around my cock as they were against mine, that's it I mean look at him." Harry says turning to face the cell where Zayn has dozed off again, this time his hair falling in front of his face some strands catching his lashes. "So fucking gorgeous." He breathes out in awe and tries not to get mesmerized again by that sharp jawline.

"You have till tonight." Louis interrupts his thoughts, his gun out as he's loading the bullets in routinely. He'd been told he's got a stack of people to get through on today's hit list and anytime now he was going to receive the names on his phone. "You do whatever you have to do tonight but I want him dead by morning or else I'll do it." In one swift move, large hands have Louis pinned to the wall by his throat, threatening to crush his windpipe.

"You fucking touch him and I'll-"

"You'll what?" Louis sneers, glaring up at the taller man with daring electric blue eyes and a confident smirk. He wasn't fazed by the fact that Harry's hands were slowly tightening around his throat, Louis was used to it. Being choked that is.

"I will burn your entire fucking family alive." He growls leaning in close by a frowning Louis' right ear to put him in his place. "You're right I can't do anything to you. Doesn't mean I won't make you watch them burn." He releases his fingers from around Louis' neck when he hears a phone go off and steps back to lean against the bars of the cell, watching the brunette across from him with a glare.

"That was really fucking low. Even for you Harry." Louis says with a clenched jaw and sad eyes before his pulls out his phone that won't shut the fuck up and reads his messages. Harry watches as a profanity slips from Louis' lips the second his eyes land on the phone screen.

"Who's the hit out on?"

"A kid. She's 12. Who fucking puts a hit out on a 12 year old." Louis says with hard eyes, shoving his phone back in his pocket and loading the pistol he'd been gripping in his hand, telling himself not to shoot Harry in the foot. "Just when my day couldn't possibly get any worse right?" He sneers and Harry wants to apologize and take everything back but he hasn't said those words in almost 10 years and he wasn't going to start now. Maybe he does part his lips and clenches his fists tightly to say something. Maybe he wants to stop Louis when his best friend walks off to their garage where the cars are parked but he doesn't because along with being organized, Harry's also stubborn and strong headed.

~

"So you run this place?" The younger boy asks, looking around at the rows and rows of computer desks and men with headsets, typing away as him and Harry walk by, the latter with a careful hand on Zayn's back.

"No Liam does, he was second in command when my father was in charge so now he's my superior," Harry explains as they get to an elevator, him pressing the button for obvious reasons (Zayn's a little tied up at the moment and it's very frustrating)

"Everyone seems to listen to you though so I'm guessing you're really in charge, Liam just likes to think he's in charge," Zayn says and for the second time that day Harry chuckles helplessly, leading Zayn unto the elevator.

"Something like that yeah."

There's a silence in the closed space and when Zayn's pupils drift to his left he can see Harry staring straight at his side profile with big forest green eyes and a stoic expression.

"You're staring."

"Hard not to."

An air of silence falls between them again and it's not awkward, it's comfortable even though Harry's boring holes into Zayn's head with those eyes of his. When the elevator door opens again, the younger boy starts asking more questions.

"So what do you guys do here exactly?" He begins, walking down the hall with Harry and looking around at the paintings that hung the walls of what seemed to be just an ordinary mansion. Zayn likes the way the architecture is old but with a modern twist but you would never know what was going on below these floors.

"We're hitmen. Someone puts out a hit on someone else they don't like, maybe owes them money, sometimes people put hits out on themselves to frame others and start gang wars. I don't know why but all we know is that humans are ignorant, violent animals and it's good for business." He explains as they turn a corner that led to a massive staircase, spiraling all the way upstairs. Zayn could easily count about 70 steps.

"Oh for fuck's sake could you really not afford another elevator? Or is this for aesthetic purposes because me sweating like a pig after I've climbed all those stairs is not an aesthetic."

"You're funny" Harry chuckles, resting a hand on Zayn's back once again to lead him up the stairs with a grin. "Smart mouth too. So you're not all looks."

Zayn doesn't say anything because he knows he'll stutter, wanting to keep his facade of confidence up for as long as he can. Instead, he smiles, and it reaches his eyes, Harry liking the way they crinkle and Zayn's tongue presseS to the back of his teeth. When they reach the last step, Harry leads his escort down a long hall with doors on opposite sides of the walls, facing one another.

"You guys live here?" Zayn questions to which Harry nods in response, stopping once they reach a door at the end of the hall. He reaches down into his heeled boot on his left foot and pulls out a small key, standing up straight to slip it in its key hole and open the door. Zayn enters the room slowly, Harry eyeing the younger boy after he's closed the door. The room was larger than Zayn had expected. The large king sized bed with its headboard pressed against the wall that's facing a flat screen tv bigger than the size of Zayn's closet back home. There's not much else when it comes to furniture other than a small coffee table but there is a large fridge in the corner of the room and Zayn decides this could easily be a small apartment.

"You're expected to stay in here all day." Harry speaks up interrupting his thoughts to which Zayn turns around sharply to face the older man. "This room has everything you need, the door will be always locked from the outside. I will be getting you a cell phone, you need anything you ask me, not a single other person do you understand?"

"You can't be serious." Zayn shakes his head, and subconsciously tugs at his restraints, the cuffs around his wrists searing into the skin. "How long do I have to stay in this place?"

"As long as I want you to. As long as you're needed." Harry takes slow steps towards the now frightened boy, the corner of his lips tugged up in a smirk that's sexy and breath taking but maleficent all at the same time. He gently brushes the strands of hair falling into Zayn's eyes and tucks them behind the younger boy's ear. "I mean why waste a perfectly good body, it's quite efficient really. I don't have to go out looking for more pretty boys to fuck when I've got my own personal whore. Think of it this way love you're saving quite a lot of people."

Zayn wants to spit on him and call him a fucking monster and maybe even cry a little but he doesn't because he knows it'll only fuel the little prick on even more. Instead he lifts his hands up, showing Harry his bonded wrists. "You said I could go shower." He says with a stoic expression then watches as his captor uses the same key he'd unlocked the room door with to remove the cuffs.

"I'll get Louis to find you some clothes after he's finished his job for the day."

"You mean after he's killed a shitload of innocent people right? You guys do this stuff during the day?"

"Not necessarily." Harry shakes his head as Zayn is gently rubbing his wrists that had been scarred with marks from the handcuffs. "He has to track them down first. Figure out how he's going to get in and out quickly without a single person noticing. Then in the middle of the night that's when the real fun begins." He grins cheekily, Zayn returning a disapproving look of disgust. Who takes pride in killing men and women? The elderly? Children? "Anyways he'll be back before you're out of the shower. He has a key to my room too-"

"That's comforting."

"And your clothes will be in that closet. With mine but on the opposite side." Harry points to the large black cabinet with double doors before continuing. "We share everything in this room, the same bed, shower, closet. And if you need anything else just name it."

"Wow you shouldn't be putting that kind of power in my hands." Zayn chuckles, curling his fingers around the first button of his dirty sable dress shirt and undoing it, moving on to the next until all his buttons are undone and he shrugs the shirt off, tossing it onto the bed. When he turns back around to undo his jeans, he notices those big forest green eyes on him again and rolls his own, looking back at Harry. "You're staring."

"Is it not common to stare at art?" He retaliates smoothly only to get another eye roll from the young boy who's body is much more captivating than he'd imagined. Harry knew Zayn had to have tattoos as well, he'd noticed the designs on the back of his hand and wondered if there were more scattered across his body. To Harry's amazement there were and fuck were did they make him look even more beautiful. In the first glance he'd gotten, Harry had decided the pair of red lips with wings protruding from behind them were his favourite, his least favourite being the girl tattooed onto his right shoulder with jeans dangerously low on her hips. Harry didn't like the fact that some girl had made his boy fall so hard he wanted to immortalize her onto his skin.

When Zayn's got the buttons of his jeans undone, he locks his honey bambi eyes with Harry's own emerald ones, hooking his thumbs in the band of his jeans and pulling them down slowly, carefully almost as if he wants to keep Harry on edge. By the time his jeans are pooling at his feet, H is drooling (noticeably in fact) at the tight black briefs Zayn has got on. They show off the curve of his ass perfectly, even better the outline of the younger boy's cock. For the first time Zayn is the most powerful in the room, controlling Harry's every gaze as he steps out of the dark pair of skinny jeans, bending down to pick them up and not forgetting to show off his ass. He tosses the jeans onto the bed along with his dress shirt and turns back around to find Harry with a stoic expression, eyes a darker green than before. It's almost scary but Zayn wants to keep the control he has over the older man, hooking his thumbs in the band of his briefs.

"Want me to take it off?" Zayn asks with a smirk that's so confident and erotic Harry might implode. H just nods to which Zayn sways his hips, slowly the briefs sliding down his thighs and revealing a semi hard 8 inch cock that's aching to be touched but Zayn can't show that he wants this as bad as Harry does. He's got to remain in control and maintain power. When he steps out of his boxers, Harry eyes the pair of clothing carefully because he knows if he even so much as glances at Zayn's erect cock they'd be stuck in this room all day having round after round after round of sex. But the older man has errands to get to and Harry never lets distractions get in the way of work. "Take a picture it'll last longer." Zayn chuckles before tossing the pair of boxers at Harry who catches it with just one hand, that stoic expression still on his face as he watches the beautiful tan boy disappear into the bathroom.

But my stockholm syndrome is in your room


	6. Chapter 6

It's our paradise,

The second time Zayn tries to make a break for it is a week after he's been held in Harry's room. It hasn't been so bad and surprisingly they hadn't had sex yet, Harry being too busy slitting people's throats and all. Zayn had gotten used to his captor's schedule. The older man is usually gone all day and only comes to bed late at night. The pair never touch, hold each other or even sleep within an inch of each other. Zayn was going to lose it if he didn't get the fuck out of here. And one night he almost makes it.

When Harry walks into his bedroom at 3 am that night expecting to see a sleeping body curled up on one side of the bed, he's confused and a little bit intrigued at the sight of Zayn sitting on the back of his knees. He's wearing his shirt. Harry's shirt. The crisp satin one with no patterns that smells of expensive Versace cologne. And if that doesn't bring the older man to his knees then the stoic expression on Zayn's face that gives off this seductive aura certainly does.

"Is that my shirt?" Harry saunters up to the younger boy slowly, looking down into the whiskey eyes that stared back up at him. But Zayn just answers with another question.

"I've been here over a week why haven't you fucked me yet?" He hooks his fingers in Harry's skinny jeans tugging him closer until his knees hit the mattress.

"Been busy."

"Busy jerking off to Texas Chainsaw Massacre again?" Zayn plucks the book he'd found Harry reading in his study a week ago out of the older man's hands and tosses it on the floor.

"It is nothing like Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Before Harry can defend his abnormal choice in literature, Zayn starts undoing the buttons of his own shirt one by one, Harry shutting his mouth to watch intently. When he's finished Zayn shrugs off the shirt, revealing the array of tattoos scattered across his skin that Harry had ever seen once.

"Want to touch?" Zayn's voice is gentle but sultry and Harry is frightened when all he does is nod instead of grabbing the younger boy and pounding into him right there. This was different. Like Zayn had a spell over him. Harry was never submissive in bed, never let himself be led around by his partner. Zayn takes Harry's hand and places it at the side of his neck right above his carotid artery. Harry can feel his pulse and it's slow, steady then he lets his fingers dance across Zayn's skin as he makes his way down to the pair of lips tattooed on his chest. He glances up to meet the honey hazel eyes staring directly into his own piercing green ones and Harry feels that urge tugging at him again.

This time Zayn caves in first and leans in slowly, before capturing Harry's plump lips between his own, hands reaching up to tangle themselves in the latter's dark chocolate curls. Their lips mold perfectly together, Harry taking the lead and sliding his tongue inside Zayn's mouth with a low groan while his fingers gripped at the younger boy's hips greedily, the tip of his thumb digging into the heart tattooed above his pelvic bone.

When Harry locks his fingers with Zayn's the younger boy has pulled away and is now sucking a mark in the skin underneath Harry's ear, trying desperately to bring him closer. The older man leads the smaller hands down to his jeans, letting Zayn unbutton then unzip the clothing quickly, tugging it down along with his boxers.

"That's it?" Zayn says as he eyes Harry's cock, before shifting his gaze to fix his eyes on the frown Harry's got across his lips, snaking his arms around the taller lad's neck. "'m just teasing." He mumbles against Harry's lips with a grin, pressing their lips together for just a moment before his hand snakes down to curl his fingers around Harry's thick cock, giving slow strokes that leaves Harry weak at the knees.

Harry decides he's had enough of being led around. The thought of Zayn actually having this much power taunts him, a hand pressing onto the mattress to step out of his jeans. He crawls onto the bed forcing Zayn to move back until his head nudges against the headboard. Harry hovers over the smaller boy, top now off and somewhere across the room before he dips his head down, catching Zayn's lips between his, immediately deepening the kiss as he slips his tongue in Zayn's mouth. Zayn takes the liberty of nipping at Harry's tongue and sucking gently as large hands curl around the band of his boxers, pulling them off slowly.

Zayn feels his cock stiffen up at the cool breeze that hits the sensitive skin. "Come on then" He sprawls across the bed like a king on his throne, fingers curled around his own cock and jerking off slowly to the sight of Harry coating his member with lube before tossing the bottle off somewhere.

"How long've you been planning this?" Harry hovers over the smaller boy taking in his lithe body, just now noticing the stitches across his left thigh from where Harry had punctured the skin with a pocket knife just last week.

"Long enough." Zayn shrugs, resting his hands on Harry's hips who curls one hand around his cock, guiding the head into Zayn's back entrance slowly. To Harry's approval Zayn is a very animated receiver, his gasps and moans starting to fill up the room as Harry rocks his hips into him at a steady pace. "Don't want it slow."

"No? What do you want?"

"Make me see stars."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm- ngh"

Harry quickens his pace, his back flexing as both hands move to rest on either side of Zayn's head, fisting the sheets. Fingers clawing at Harry's back, Zayn's stubby nails still manage to leave red streaks across the older man's pale skin as his body rocks against the mattress, gasps escaping into Harry's mouth. Zayn can't breathe. He feels like he's drowning - in the best possible way - and his body might implode the way Harry is pounding into him. "fucking hell Harry."

"Say my name again."

"Harry"

"Again."

"H-Harry fuck fuckfuckfuck."

There's a silence in the room for two split seconds when Harry hits Zayn's prostate sharply. The smaller boy feels his breath hitch and toes curl almost simultaneously before strings of white cum spurt onto both their stomachs, Harry following suit inside him.

Zayn lets out a breathless moan, Harry panting softly as he brushes the strands of damp black hair from his boy's sweaty forehead, smiling tiredly as their gazes lock.

"Good?" Harry mumbles with a chuckle, watching Zayn still catching his breath.

"Good enough." He shrugs, laughing once Harry frowns for the second time that night and leaning up to catch the older man's lips between his in a kiss.

~

"Can I ask you a question?" Harry mumbles tiredly, eyelids on the verge of closing. It's ten to four now and the pair are clean and tangled up underneath the covers, after a quickie in the shower. Harry's too tired to realize just how intimate this position is, their bodies pressed together and lips less than an inch apart.

"Hm what is it?"

"Why take a job like this? I mean who wakes up wanting to be an escort? No offence it's not a very respectable job."

"And yours is?"

Harry props his head up on his elbow, hand resting against his cheek as he looks down into Zayn's tired eyes. "You know that's not what I mean Zayn. Why degrade yourself and let people use your body for cash?"

"Daddy issues." He shrugs, but doesn't say more. Harry takes that as his cue to drop the subject, a soft yawn escaping his lips before rubbing his eye with a fist and laying back down, letting Zayn nuzzle his head against his broad chest. "You ever had to defend yourself?"

"I do stringent research before accepting any clients, I'm too cautious to ever have to defend myself."

"Anomalies happen."

"They don't happen to me."

"Hm." Harry responds tiredly and within a few moments, Zayn hears soft snores coming from beside him. He waits a couple of seconds before maneuvering out of Harry's grasp, sliding off the bed onto his feet and slowly making his way to the pair of dark jeans laying on the floor. Zayn bites down on his lip anxiously, slipping his hand in the back pocket and cupping a ring of keys before pulling them out. He gets on his knees, pulling out the clothes he'd folded up the night before and money he'd stolen off Louis - don't ask how - who had finally brought him the cellphone Harry had promised. To Zayn's misfortune the phone didn't call any numbers outside of this house but with the amount of money he'd taken he could afford a new one. The young boy slips on his clothes, stashing the money between the band of his jeans and boxers, and covers it up with his shirt. He puts on shoes quickly, watching Harry's sleeping body carefully but shakes his head when he catches himself smiling with a bite to his lip as his gaze on the older man lingers a little too long. Zayn checks the time on his phone and it's 4:05 am on the dot. He counts ten seconds, hearing the same guard walk past the room that usually does every night at 4:05. He usually reaches the end of the hall in fifteen seconds then in another twenty five seconds he's made his way down another hallway. Zayn closes his eyes, concentrating on counting. By the twentieth second he's opened his eyes, searching for the right key, golden with a cross inscribed on it before unlocking the room door, slipping out and locking it again. He rushes down the hall, trying to remember a map of the house and which route Harry had taken him last week to get to his room. Making a sharp right turn, Zayn breathes out in relief when he sees the excessively long staircase spiralling down to the second floor, rushing down the stairs quickly. When he gets to the bottom, a profanity slips past his lips as a man in a suit with multiple guns is headed his way. Zayn definitely has a death wish because he sucks in a breath, putting on an air of confidence before walking straight towards him.

"You're not supposed to be down here Zayn." The guard raises his eyebrow, Zayn not wanting to know how he even knew his name.

"Uh-?"

"Nick."

"Nick sorry, I had a bad dream so Harry said I could walk around, get some fresh air. I've been cooped up in his room for like a week, it's starting to drive me mental."

"Wow you must be something else considering you managed to convinced him to go against what he wants." Nick chuckles, prompting Zayn to force a smile and nod politely. He says goodnight to the guard, walks off in the opposite direction with his head down but stops in an empty hallway when he realizes. Where the fuck is the front door.

"Lost sweetheart?"

"Shit." Zayn's eyes fall shut at the sound of Harry's deep voice from behind him, groaning as he spins around on his heels. Leaning against the pastel peach wall, Harry's arms are crossed, a stupid smirk on his stupid face that's so arrogant and sexy Zayn might faint. Of course he's dressed but Zayn's never seen him look so casual before. Just a hoodie and sweats, his long hair pulled back in a bun. "We actually do have a second elevator."

"You can't keep me here."

"The only person keeping you alive right now is me. Do you understand that?" Harry walks up to him with a hard stare. "I let you go, every single person in this building will come after you and they will kill you. No one who leaves this place and doesn't come back stays alive. That's how we ensure security. Even worse the FBI or CIA may find you and those fucks will torture you until you talk."

"I never asked to be a part of this!"

"You told me yourself you do your research before accepting clients. You saw my files didn't you? You know the shit I've done and yet you still met with me. The second you walked into that club you became a part of this."

And it's our warzone.


	7. Chapter 7

I should be more cynical and tell myself it's not okay.

"How did he get past you?" Zayn hears a voice from outside the bedroom that belongs to Harry and blinks the sleep out of his eyes, slowly forcing himself out of bed and trudging towards the door. He rests his hand on the knob slowly and turns it surprised when he finds it unlocked. When Zayn peeks through the small gap out into the hallway, he sees Harry fiddling with a small hand gun, the same one he always keeps with him. He's leaning back against a wall, Louis by his side and across are three men standing against the opposite wall who look scared out of their minds. "Come on then, Hyde out with it." Harry gestures at the guard that usually walks through this hallway at night. The first person Zayn had been able to sneak past.

"I must've been in another hall when he snuck out, he's pretty clever Harry I mean he was able to get past you-" In a second there's a bullet in Hyde's chest, Zayn covering his mouth to make sure he doesn't make a sound. His chest fills with guilt while Hyde's own fills with blood, choking for a few moments before dropping to the floor.

"Are you fucking done for the day we don't just pull these guys out of our asses you know." Louis puts in angrily as he glares at his best friend who just leans in and kisses his cheek, Zayn feeling an odd pang in his chest. Harry undoes the rosary that's around his neck tossing it onto the body laying in a pool of blood.

"You're just like your fucking father." The guy that Zayn recognizes as Nick from last night speaks up and even Louis' eyes widen. "Kill first ask questions later ain't it? Go ahead and shoot me, better than watching this shit."

Harry narrows his eyes, a frown on his lips before reloading his gun and pulling the trigger, the bullet aimed right at Nick's crotch. There's an ear piercing scream as he drops to his knees, hands between his legs in agony. Harry chuckles, "yeah it fucking hurts doesn't it?!"

"Harry that's enough." Louis says knowing his best mate would listen to him but for the nth time since last week he doesn't. Harry walks up to Nick, fisting his feather light brown hair and forcing him to look at him. He looks down into the dark glossy eyes beneath him, pressing the cool metal of the gun right up against his forehead and--

"Harry, he said that's enough." There's a quiet voice that comes from Harry's room, everyone looking up to find Zayn stepping out in a t-shirt and sweats, his hair disheveled. "None of this is their fault so will you piss off and give them a break?"

Harry releases Nick's hair, pulling the gun away to lock the safety and shoving it in the space between his jeans and boxers. "Clean this up." He mumbles at the last man standing, giving Louis a quick glance who stares back with a clenched jaw before heading back into his room, Zayn following suit.

"You really need to start treating those guys better, you don't even run this place-" Zayn shuts up once Harry has his fingers curled around his throat, body pinned to the wall. He gasps for air as Harry's large hands tighten around his airway, fierce green eyes locked with his own glassy hazel ones.

"You said last night you wanted to make rules here's rule number 1." Harry grits, unaffected as Zayn claws at his arm, begging for him to let go. "You do not talk to me like that in front of my men is that understood?" Zayn nods quickly, breathing heavily once Harry releases his throat and his body drops to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Zayn coughs out, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath and wipes his eyes, watching Harry walk across the room to the nightstand and open the drawer pulling out a new rosary to hook around his neck. "I couldn't fucking breathe."

"I have that effect on people."

"Why do you do that?"

"What?" Harry turns around to face Zayn who is now up on his feet, flinching as he touches the soon-to-be number of bruises around his neck.

"Kill people and dump your necklace on the dead body." Zayn questions and Harry frowns, turning to shut the drawer.

"Rule number 2, you don't ask about the rosary."

"Rule number 3, I'm not your fucking rag-doll, don't you ever touch me like that again." Zayn says with so much confidence and Harry nods in understanding, walking up to the younger boy slowly, his eyes catching the red marks he'd left across his skin.

"Does it hurt too much?" Harry asks in an unusually soft tone to which Zayn rolls his eyes as if to say 'no fucking duh' prompting him to reach up and gently brush his fingertip against the broken skin. Zayn flinches, hissing quietly and Harry pulls back in an instant, lips parted. "I'm- ..." He trails off, biting down on his bottom lip.

"You've never apologized a day in your life have you." Zayn questions with narrowed eyes and Harry breathes out, resting both hands on the smaller boy's hips.

"I'm sorry yeah?" Harry apologizes, dipping his head when Zayn doesn't look convinced to press gentle kisses along the marks on his neck, his plump lips leaving tingling sensations all over Zayn's skin. "No more, I promise."

This makes Zayn grin helplessly as he tangles his fingers in the taller lad's curls, bringing his lips up to his own mouth and kissing him deeply. Their tongues slide in each other's mouths almost instantly, groans filling the room as Harry slots a leg between Zayn's legs pushing down on the younger boy's hips, Zayn grinding against his thigh with a soft gasp. A smirk appears on Harry's lips as he watches Zayn hump his thigh desperately.

"Look at you, so desperate to get off hm?"

"fuck, yeah" Zayn grips Harry's shoulder's tightly, nails digging into his back as he keeps his gaze locked on the older man, rutting his hips against his thigh with a filthy moan, body beginning to shake.

"Fuck you're such a distraction we have to go." Harry grips onto Zayn's hips to force them to stop, a whine escaping the latter's lips as he leans back against the wall breathless.

"Where are we going?"

"The gym."

"First time I'm actually allowed out of here and it's to exercise? That wasn't in the Become A Personal Whore brochure." Zayn crosses his arms, Harry's chuckling as he leans forward, resting his forehead against Zayn's own.

"I'm going to teach you how to fight."

"I told you anomalies don't happen to me. All my clients are the same just like how all my relationships are the same and I've never had any trouble." Zayn argues, his breath hitting Harry's lips before he rests his hands back on the taller lad's shoulders.

"What about me? If you don't remember I basically kidnapped you and held you hostage, if you knew how to fight none of this would have happened." Harry argues, and Zayn doesn't say a thing. Just bites his lip because he hates being wrong. "I'm your anomaly."

To feel this good when I'm with you


	8. Chapter 8

I'll use you as a warning sign

"Rule number 7, I need more things to keep me entertained in this god forsaken house. Mainly art supplies." Zayn says as he and Harry turn what's to be the 4th left, heading for a pair of large steel double doors.

"Didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." Harry turns his head to give Zayn a pointed look to which Zayn just shrugs his shoulders entering the large gym slowly.

"woah.." It's about the size of a football field -probably bigger - with white paint on each of the four large walls and large steel bars cutting off each section of the training facility. Zayn slowly follows after Harry in awe, getting lost in the way men were assembling and disassembling handguns at the speed of light. "Where did you get all these weapons from?" He finally catches up to the older man, hands in the pockets of his grey sweatpants but Harry doesn't answer, just gives him a stoic expression as they reach a large rack with an array of guns on display. ".45, automatic, semi-automatic, rifle, you have sniper?" And again Harry doesn't say a word, just does some rearranging, his eyes moving fast but hands moving faster and not even fumbling once. Then they're making their way over to a large black mat, probably for hand-to-hand combat. Harry dismisses the two young men using it before stepping onto the mat himself and beckoning for Zayn to join him. "Okay rule number 8, if I don't get to ask about the rosary, you have to answer all my other questions."

"Rule number 9, I'm not obliged to follow rule number 8." Harry counters, his voice slow and deep and Zayn really can't get enough of it even though he's just spoken about 5 minutes ago. Zayn rolls his eyes, stepping onto the mat silently to which Harry frowns, biting at his bottom lip because it seems the younger boy is angry with him. "Fine, pin me down and I'll answer any question you want." Zayn grins a little too soon and after Harry decides he wants to die looking at that smile, he reminds Zayn that the beaded rosary he's got around his neck is out of the question completely to which there's a lot of whining but Zayn agrees anyways.

They're both in proper combat stance, elbow and forearm in front to block the face, feet spread apart and fists up. There's a lot of circling, both men deciding what tactic to begin with but within a blink of an eye Harry lungs for Zayn whose reflexes act impulsively to defend himself. When Harry throws the first punch, Zayn grips his wrist with a small hand and flips his large body onto the mat, straddling the older man to pin his wrists above his head. Harry lands with a loud oof and the air knocked right out his lungs. He narrows his piercing green eyes up at the grinning boy, growling breathlessly.

"Can't fight my ass."

"Never said I couldn't fight, now tell me where you got all those weapons from."

"F.B.I"

"Wha-" Zayn furrows his eyebrows, and lowers his voice a bit, leaning down so their noses are barely brushing and lips barely a hair apart. "You're being funded by the F.B.I?" He whisper shouts and Harry doesn't know why he feels the need to lower his voice also but he does, confirming as well as mocking Zayn. "How the hell did you manage that? You're killing people!"

"God bless America." Harry says with that stupid cheeky smirk of his and it's completely unrelated to the subject but then the irony in his tone registers in Zayn's mind. Harry's licking his lips for what seemed to be the sixth time since Zayn pinned him to the mat because for some reason Zayn's own cant seem to stop drawing his attention. "You've got a rat don't you? Inside, you've got someone sending you weapons. How haven't you been caught yet?"

"Ah I said any question, singular." Harry stops him before leaning up to catch Zayn's lips between his, and it's like he's swallowed fire crackers that don't seem to go off until Zayn slides his tongue into his mouth so slowly Harry swears he's going to faint but instead uses the opportunity Zayn gives him when the younger boy releases his wrist to rests his own hands against the mat on either side of Harry's head. In less than a second, Zayn finds himself beneath Harry and breathless, looking up into a pair of forest green eyes that gleaned with mischief. "Where'd you learn to fight?" He asks and Zayn shrugs his shoulders as much as he possibly can while being restrained before responding.

"Dad taught me, it was just the two of us so he wanted me to learn how to defend myself."

"What about your Mum?"

"Didn't know her." Zayn twists his mouth to the side prompting Harry to tilt his head in confusion before the younger boy rolls his eyes, continuing to explain. "The woman who gave birth to me was a surrogate. My father wanted a child but didn't like the idea of being in a relationship."

"'s why you were so good back at the club."

"Apparently not good enough because here I am." Zayn chuckles, sitting up once Harry releases his hold, the older man still on his lap but neither of them complain. "What about your Mum?" Zayn suddenly asks after a brief silence and Harry shrugs, almost like Zayn had done earlier before rolling off the younger boy's lap onto his back on the cushioned mat.

"Parents were still dating when my mum gave birth to me. They broke up when my father came out as a homosexual and he eventually got married to the 'love of his life'" Harry says dramatically, hand gestures and all, a sense of sarcasm in his voice. He twists his mouth to the side, reaching into the pockets of his black sweatpants to pull out his phone and unlocking his to check his text messages while Zayn lays down beside him subconsciously curling up into the older man's side. "Fuck.."

"What?" Zayn sticks out his neck to try and read Harry's phone screen but the latter puts his phone away too fast leaving Zayn to call rule number 8 with a cocked eyebrow and Harry doesn't have to but he gives in, melting at the grin that spreads across Zayn's lips after.

"Louis' gone and ditched me, we were gonna have lunch together but he's got a target in New York so he's on the first flight out in a couple of minutes."

"Are you and him.."

"No, definitely not. We used to but it didn't work out."

Then there's silence and Harry can't tell whether it's uncomfortable or awkward or both so he clears his throat and gives the younger boy a smile. "How does lunch sound?"

That if you talk enough sense you could lose your mind


	9. Chapter 9

Things were all good yesterday

When Zayn was 7 he'd met a boy on the playground with big brown eyes just the same as his, a tiny nose to match his tiny body and a head of dirty blonde hair which was odd - a blonde with brown eyes - but Zayn loved odd he loved anything that went against the norm. The two became friends in minutes, one of the simplest things to do as a child, just offer them your toy to play with. Zayn soon learns the boy's name is Ethan and that he wants to work with the FBI when he grows up. A ' secret agent' Ethan says with bright whiskey brown eyes and a toothy grin. It explains why the boy is driving a police car across the sand making fake siren noises and Zayn frowns because he doesn't know what he wants to be. He likes doing too many things there's never one thing Zayn has ever stuck to since he was little - well littler - he's a floater and in his 7 year old mind that meant he wouldn't get anywhere.

It's been a month since Zayn had started training and he realizes Harry had let him win during their first session when Zayn flipped the older man on his back onto the mat. It got harder after that, Harry quickly dodging hits and escaping grips before sweeping his leg across the mat where Zayn's feet are planted to cause the boy to lose his footing and fall backwards, the land knocking the air right out of his lungs. Over time Zayn manages to start pinning Harry down and each time asks a more personal question than the one before, seeing how far he can push. He learns that they both were born in England before moving to America, and his fathers passed away when Harry was a junior. Also Harry's mother is still alive, and that he currently has another sister. When Zayn goes to ask her name, Harry reminds him he's already asked one question before flipping their bodies over to begin his own interrogation. Harry finds out that Zayn became an escort after dropping out of uni and refusing to go back home in fear of disappointing his father. He lives in an apartment with a childhood friend, Ethan, to which Harry scrunched up his nose and furrows his brows as if he's heard the name before but it doesn't come to him.

After training Harry takes Zayn out to lunch each day and by out he means on the terrace that over looks the forest the house was built behind. Zayn always wondered why no one had caught on to the large mansion in the middle of a damn forest but two weeks ago when Louis had ditched Harry prompting the man to eat lunch with Zayn instead the Pakistani boy had found the exterior of the house had been painted - and very well if he may add - to look like it was abandoned. Windows that looked boarded up where there were no windows at all, the door was in fact boarded up and no one was to use that entrance only the garage behind the house. The whole illusion of it all was beautiful to an awestruck Zayn who just stared instead of eating his chipotle wrap and Harry fonds over the younger boy with a smile at the corner of his lips, you could practically see the hearts in his eyes.

Right now the pair are sitting out on the terrace as routine, eating a half assed ham sandwich Harry had made, Zayn on his lap, trying to make out shapes of clouds in his head as Harry's fingers that are curled around his hip draw shapes of their own against the olive skin. This whole scene just needed some violin music to orchestrate the calm serenity of their environment or some shit like that, Harry thinks. A phone rings and Harry looks back at the small table to see its his, stretching his arm out to pick it up while still balancing Zayn in his lap, bringing the cellphone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Call a code black right now" Louis says into the phone and Harry can hear his best friend's feet pounding against the pavement, heavy breathing along with occasional winces. In seconds Zayn is off Harry's lap and the pair move the table as well as the chairs indoors, Zayn still confused as to what a 'code black' really means.

"How did you get caught what's going on?" Harry says into the phone quickly but calmly, slamming his hand down on a dark green button against the wall once they're inside. A loud siren goes off and Zayn has to cover his ears, his jaw dropping and eyes squeezing shut from his ear drums ringing. It takes moments for him to adjust but when he does Harry wastes no time to reach his hand out for Zayn to take a hold of it, lacing their fingers together and running down the hall to the elevator.

"Was driving over to this guy's place, he was my target, Kenneth I think whatever the fuck his name is-" Louis pauses taking a few breathes before continuing, his feet still against the pavement as he sprints as fast as he can. "And some cop ran me off the road, my car got flipped over."

"Jesus Louis."

"I know it was my favourite one too." He winces again and Harry chuckles but can hear sirens from far off on the other end of the line, furrowing his eyebrows as he's leading Zayn onto the elevator.

"Harry they're tracking me, I don't know how but I have to get underground." Louis coughs into the microphone, Harry chewing at his bottom lip nervously, letting go of Zayn's hand. "Damn that guy got a good shot."

"Shot? Louis are you hurt, how the fuck did you get shot?!" Harry panics heading into the main room on the first floor with Zayn in tow where everyone is shutting doors and frantically typing away at their computers.

"Why are you calling a code black it's a code red." Mark walks up to Harry in confusion who puts up his index finger to gesture for him to shut his mouth.

"Louis answer me right now."

"I swear he was with the FBI, he ran me off the road and when my car flipped over he came down to make sure I was proper dead that asshat. I got a shot at him but he fired before going down, it's really not that bad just my torso is all." Louis explains and Harry fumes, walking up to one of the computer desks.

"Fucking Ethan I'm gonna shove my foot down his throat, get him on the phone!" Harry raises his voice and Zayn freezes at the sound of Ethan's name because it can't be his Ethan. The same Ethan who worked a construction job that could barely pay for their rent. Who made shooting sounds while playing video games and lived off Doritos and juice boxes. it's not the same Ethan. His Ethan. "James, track Louis for me -- Lou get somewhere safe I'm coming alright just hold on." Harry alternates between speaking to the man at the computer desk and into his cellphone before walking up to another desk, Zayn trailing behind like a lost puppy and standing beside Nick, his bottom lip between his teeth.

"What the fuck is going on and where the fuck is Liam !" Harry raises his voice, looking up from where he's stood behind the blonde operating the computer. He's fuming as videos are pulled up unto the screen, a man, tall with a lithe body, dressed in the same black leather suit as most of the men in the house, frantically running around packing clothes into a bag along with another man - much older maybe in his mid forties - packing a bag as well.

"It's a code red Harry." The boy sitting at computer desk looks up at Harry who's infuriated as he is, picking up a stray cellphone lying on the desk and dialling a number. On the screen the man on leather picks up his own phone, mumbling a quiet 'hello' into the speaker.

"Code red means someone's let a target go." Nick mumbles by a confused Zayn's ear who nods in understanding. "They've gone rogue."

"Code black?" He asks, turning back only slightly to look up at Nick through his eyelashes.

"The FBI are coming."

"What the fuck do you think you're doing Jack?" Harry growls prompting the man on the screen to look up and around possibly for the cameras watching him before running into another room with the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Switching to nanny cam." The screen now showing the living room where the two men are stood by the couch, Jack opening his duffel bag to set his gun on the pile of clothes and zipping it up.

"He's got three kids Harry. Three. He deserves a chance at life, I deserve a chance." Jack says into the phone to which Harry rolls his eyes, pushing himself off the back of the chair and walking back over to James who is clicking away at his mouse, a map of the city displayed on his screen but shakes his head at Harry with a frown. "Jack I do not have time for this -- fucking find him." Harry alternates from speaking to the asshole taking up all his time and James who's desperately trying to locate Louis.

"What did you fuck up now little brother." A voice comes from the other end of the room and Zayn turns his head to set eyes on what could be Harry's twin. She's a bit shorter with lighter hair but the same facial features and unamusing scowl. She's wearing a tight black dress that hug her curves perfectly to match her satin heels and it's only when Nick leans in to whisper "Harry's sister" by his ear that Zayn realizes who she is and watches their interaction intently.

"Gemma who called you I had this" Harry complains, hugging his sister into his side as she wraps her arms around his torso, a beaming smile appearing on her lips once Harry presses a kiss to her temple and pulls back slightly to look at her. He seems so much more relaxed, his shoulders less tense and crease between his eyebrows gone. "Did they pull you out of a date?"

"Yeah but it's all good, guy had shitty personality anyways. What's going on who's gone rogue?" She walks up to the computer desk Harry had initially been behind to look at the screen for herself. "Oh jack"

"Harry, Louis needs to speak with you it's urgent, he doesn't sound so good." James says from his desk with a frown and Harry walks up to him, picking up his phone he'd left by the computer and speaking into the microphone.

"Lou-"

"Harry I'm so numb fuck I'm so numb and there's blood everywhere, I just bought these shoes man." Louis says from the other line and he sounds so drained it makes Harry's heart drop and breathing pick up but he tries to keep calm.

"Louis love where are you, we can't find your phone." Harry bites down on his lip, staring at the screen waiting for a green dot to pop up somewhere literally anywhere to indicate Louis and Harry would be out the door in a third of a second.

"In the sewers under ninth line I think, I don't know I just got to the underground subway and kept running-"

"Okay that's good they can't track you either Louis I'm coming -- turn off all his trackers, phone, anklet, everything." Harry speaks and opens the drawer of the computer desk, pulling out a hand gun but stops in his tracks once he hears Louis' voice.

"Harry I see you.." He whispers and you can hear the smile in his tone it's heart breaking and Harry just breathes out shakily, doesn't say a word. It's what they did when they were younger, started when they'd met in freshmen year. Louis lived across town, almost an hour drive and it was brutal especially at night when things got bad for Harry. They'd call each other and close their eyes imagining the other was there, both of them curled up under the blankets. Louis would whisper 'I see you' as if he could reach out and stroke the younger boy's soft cheeks, it always calmed Harry down.

"I'm coming to get you Louis, sit tight okay? I'm coming I swear." Harry hangs up quickly, loading the ammunition into the gun and turns, almost rushing into his older sister.

"They're both gone." She says gesturing to Jack and the man he was supposed to get rid of. Harry clenches his jaw and hands the gun to Gemma with hard eyes.

"Find them."

~

As Harry heads down the hall, his sister by his side, Zayn takes the liberty of rushing out of his room to stop him quickly, brushing a small hand against Harry's large bicep.

"Hey I'm sorry I know you've gotta go but be careful yeah?" Zayn looks up at him with genuinely concerned eyes, prompting Gemma to furrow her brows because she hasn't met him before and the way Harry's looking back at him all doe eyes and lovestruck stares she definitely hasn't met him before.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a bit." Harry gives him a soft smile and it's so pretty Zayn just wants to kiss his lips until they're pink and swollen but decided against it - his sister standing two feet away and all - instead biting back a smile with a small nod and heading back into his room.

When Zayn shuts the door, a phone rings on the bed, Zayn's body jolting before realizing its Harry's phone and walking up to it, answering the call. "Hello?"

"Harry?"

"Louis it's Zayn, Harry's coming."

"Oi Zayn 've been meaning to talk to you" Louis slurs his words, his voice sounding faint as he sits up against the wall, hand still applying pressure on his wound as best as he could.

"Harry told me you got shot somewhere around your torso, that it's not that bad.." Zayn says into the phone, shaking his head slowly because he knows by the sound of Louis' voice something is off. "You lied to him."

"yeah whatever I lied sue me, listen 'm gonna need you to take care of him for me. He's not the monster you think he is-"

"Of course I know that--"

"No you're going to find out some things- some really horrible things.. T--there's things you don't know and" He takes a breathe, Zayn hearing some shuffling and rests his elbows on his thighs, running a hand through his hair stressfully. "And I need to tell you in advance since I won't be there to constantly reassure your ignorant ass. Harry is a product of his environment, he has good in him, try-- try to see the good in him, there's things you don't know Zayn, he's a good person, take care of him."

"I will."

~

"And then what?" Mark asks again, staring into the brown eyes across from him on his bed, resting his hands on the mattress in the space between his crossed legs. Zayn shakes his head with a sigh, shrugging lightly.

"And then he just hung up, saying something about how Harry might call from another phone or whatnot. I just want to know what he meant by 'there's things you don't know. I mean there's a lot of things I don't know about Harry but what did he mean by 'he's done terrible things'" He twists his mouth to the side in confusion, playing with his hands subconsciously and Mark scoots a bit closer to him on the bed, his eyes already telling Zayn there was something he knew.

"There's been talk that Harry killed his parents in High School."

"That's bullshit I checked his file and both his fathers' deaths were ruled as suicides." Zayn rolls his eyes but Mark laughs, shaking his head as if Zayn had told some kind of joke that was comedy gold.

"Everyone in this house helped to pay for the judge to forge that ruling, his parents were murdered, he killed them." Mark says, Zayn's heart dropping as he scoots away slowly to the edge of the bed, staring at the older man warily. "Hey I'm not gonna hurt you.. and I don't think he will either. The way he's completely compliant to you, I can see why you would want to stay here."

"Trust me this is the last place I want to be." Zayn says with a hard voice, watching Mark's own dark brown eyes intently.

"You seem like a fighter, very feisty and stubborn. But you haven't really made an effort to leave, maybe twice yes but that was weeks ago Zayn. The way you look at him, he's grown on you and you're very much attached to him." This makes Zayn narrow his eyes at the man sitting across from him and stand up from the bed without a word, walking out the door - obviously making sure to slam it for emphasis - before returning to his room.

He's grown on you

~

Harry makes a sharp turn, his jogging slowing evolving into a sprint as he spots Louis sitting against a post, hand underneath his breast bone. He grins, panting softly when he stumbles to a stop, bending down on his knees with a sigh of relief. "Louis I'm here, hey I'm here." He shakes the older boy's body, eyebrows furrowing when his best friend doesn't respond and begins mumbling to himself, turning Louis' head to look at him. His eyes are fallen shut, lips parted and cuts all across his face. "No, no, no, no, no." Harry whispers quickly, his heart racing as he listens underneath Louis' nostrils for any signs of breathing but nothing and Harry shakes his head quickly, pulling back to cup his cold cheeks, with sad eyes and suddenly Harry can't feel at all, a breath escaping his lips as he stares at Louis' lifeless body. Everything seems to be moving too slow now. He lifts Louis up unto his lap, shaking his head vigorously as he lays the older boy's head against his own chest, pressing his face into his chestnut hair. Blood stains his hands and clothes but Harry's unfazed, trying to hold his body as close as he possibly can. There's no tears, he wishes he could cry but nothing comes out and he's so numb, he can't feel his own body, he can't tell if any of this is even real, the pain in his chest making him nauseous but he just keeps rocking back and forth, Louis in his arms. "I see you.." He whispers, arms tightly gripped around his best friend, a frown on his lips. "I see you Louis."

And then the devil took your breath away


	10. Chapter 10

See the flames inside my eyes  
It burns so bright I wanna feel your love

"We've scanned every inch of him multiple times, no tracking chips were picked up other than ours. I don't know how they could have been following him." Leo, their house Medic spoke in disbelief but couldn't hide the fact that he was impressed. The 48 year old was short for his age but lean with fiery orange hair and clashing large blue eyes. He specialized in every medical practice there was, from simply diagnosing migraines and flus to surgeries, autopsies. More than half of the basement level floor belonged to him. "The only other option left is to open him up."

"No, Don't bother. Johannah wouldn't approve anyways. I've done enough to her son." Harry inhales deeply, eyeing the pale body that laid on the autopsy table, reaching up to card his fingers through Louis' feather brown hair, the strands caught in his eyelashes now gently tucked by his ear. Leo observes Harry cautiously, noticing the 26 year old hadn't shed a single tear for his best friend, the moment reminding him all too much of the day his fathers were brought in.

"You know Harry, emotions are an essential and healthy sector of the human brain." Leo speaks up and when the younger boy rolls his eyes and takes Louis' hand in his, the former continues. "If you express too much of one emotion and push the others aside it is very easy for it to completely consume you. Especially at such a young age."

"I'm almost 30."

"And I'm almost 50, you're still young so shut up about it."

Harry chuckles, dimples protruding his cheeks and all. He brushes his thumb against the skin on the back of Louis' cold hand almost as if the warmth could bring him back to life and it's a dumb thought but Harry doesn't stop. "What's that?" He questions, eyes now fixated on the row of stitches across Louis' left bicep suspiciously.

"Him and Zayn got into it a few days ago as per usual but this time it got physical and your bradford boy threw a bottle of wine at him. Smashed against his arm and Zayn brought him in asking me to teach him how to stitch it back up." Leo recalls barely ever having to assist Zayn, he'd even left the room to take a call and came back to a perfectly stitched Louis. "He's a very quick learner but has also gotten to be quite the violent type lately."

"That sounds like a subtweet Leo and I'm choosing to ignore it." Harry rolls his eyes and turns his head to look back at the door once he hears a quiet voice laced with so much sadness it sent shivers all along Harry's spine. Standing at the doorway is Liam in just grey sweats and a hoodie, hair disheveled and cheeks blood red to match his swollen eyes.

"They told me he was down here." He speaks so quietly with a hoarse voice that Harry can barely pick up what he says but nods understandingly and drops Louis' hand to step aside. Liam takes slow and hesitant steps towards the table, sucking on his bottom lip nervously once he lays his eyes on the lifeless body of one of his oldest best friends.

"Have you been crying?" Harry asks with a frown and Liam lifts his head up with a look that almost says 'no fucking shit captain obvious'

"Obviously are you forgetting that Louis and I have been best friends since primary school? I'm not an emotionless robot Harry, I'm not you." Liam spits and the jab at Harry doesn't so much hurt but bruises his ego.

"You two have been friends since you were both fetuses wow look at that I almost gave a fuck." Harry rolls his eyes for what seems like the fiftieth time that day. "Where were you when someone put a bullet in his chest?"

"With my family." Liam retaliates, narrowing his eyes at the younger boy. "Do you remember what that is Harry? A family? I'm thinking you never will either."

"Excuse me?"

"You don't trust a single person, you act like you're in charge around here when my name is clearly written on the papers. Your only response to every situation is anger, nobody in their right mind would want to start a family with you." And to prove Liam right, Harry fists the hair on the back of his head angrily, smashing his nose against the very table Louis laid on before dropping his body to the ground.

"Come here." He grits through his teeth and picks Liam up off the floor by his collar with both hands, pressing his body up against the wall the back of Liam's head hitting the concrete with a loud smack as a result. Liam's nose is gushing unimaginable amounts of blood when Harry tugs out his gun and pulls down the safety, shoving the barrel into his mouth with clenched jaws. "Say that again, I fucking dare you"

"Harry." Leo's voice rings in his ears from across the room but Harry doesn't so much as turn his gaze away from Liam's frightened brown eyes. "Remember it's very easy for it to consume you. Just like it did your father."

"I am not my father." Harry growls angrily, his breathing uneven and heavy as his fists tighten around Liam's collar. "And your name may be on the papers but you don't do shit around here. I took care of a code black and a code red today. If I don't act like I'm in charge, nobody will." He releases Liam, dropping the gun to the floor and walks out of the room without looking back, a shaky breath escaping his lips.

~

When Harry enters his room angrily, Zayn is waiting for him, sitting on the bed with arms crossed.

"I wanna know what happened to your parents."

"Can we not do this now?" Harry interrupts with a firm voice but Zayn drops his hands slowly, standing up off the bed.

"You killed them didnt you.." He says quietly, shaking his head. "You're a murderer--" Zayn flinches when Harry's fist goes right through the concrete wall, his chest rising and falling quickly.

"I said I don't want to get into this-- I" Harry starts after removing his hand from the wall but a look of horror then despair washes over him and suddenly he can't breathe. He covers his face with his large hands, hyperventilating and Zayn frowns deeply as he walks up to the older man, curling his fingers around Harry's wrists.

"Harry.. hey let me see." Slowly but hesitantly, Harry lets Zayn remove his hands from his red face to see tears falling from his bottom lashes to his cheeks. Zayn had never witnessed Harry look so vulnerable with glossy eyes and quivering lips and he thinks maybe Harry had never witnessed himself be so fragile.

"He's gone.. he's gone, he's gone." Harry whimpers, chest heaving as he tugs at his collar, trying to unbutton his shirt so he can breathe. It doesn't take long for Zayn to realize Louis hadn't made it. He follows Harry who sits on the floor sobbing violently and trying to inhale simultaneously. "I c-can't, I can't breathe."

"Harry, Harry you have to take deep breaths for me okay, you're going to go numb if you keep hyperventilating." Zayn straddles his lap quickly, taking Harry's large hands in his and demonstrating for him. "Inhale, exhale, come on Harry please.." But Harry is already so numb and doesn't know why he won't stop crying or shaking. It's a full on panick attack when he hides his face in Zayn's chest, squeezing the younger boy's hands tightly choking out through sobs that it hurts. And it does. He feels like he's drowning, his chest is so heavy and stings in the worst way possible and he's gone, Louis' really gone.

"Fuck it hurts it f-fucking h-hurts." He cries into Zayn's chest, shaking his head with eyes squeezed shut and he feels so fucking pathetic he wants to scream but all that comes out is more sobs. Suddenly there's an all too familiar pair of lips against his and soft hands cupping his cheeks. It's not like before, it's never been like this all gentle and what seems like passion being exuded between the pair. Harry keens into the kiss and curls his fingers around Zayn's hips bringing the younger boy closer to press their bodies together. He whimpers into Zayn's mouth, fisting the thin material of his white t-shirt and when Zayn pulls back from the kiss, Harry leans in further following his lips in need of more.

"Don't ever leave okay? I need you don't leave me.." Harry whispers brokenly and the words 'I need you' ring in Zayn's mind for what seems like forever before he nods his head slowly and leaning in to connect their lips once again, Harry already undoing the rest of the buttons on his shirt to take it off quickly.

"Never."

Easy baby, maybe I'm a liar  
but for tonight I wanna fall in love


	11. Chapter 11

I am drowning

"You never told me you had anxiety." Zayn speaks up quietly after the long silence between the naked pair. Harry was curled up on the mattress and pressed up against Zayn's side. With his bottom half almost fully on top of Zayn, Harry resembled an overgrown puppy that still thought he was a lap dog. In response to Zayn's observation, Harry just shrugs his shoulders, eyes fixated on the space between the younger boy's shoulder and neck where he'd sucked a violent red love bite into his brown skin just an hour before. Harry remembers that moment when Zayn's fingers dug into his own pale shoulder blades and the corner of his lip twitches almost like he's about to smile but he doesn't because Zayn asks another question. "Do you have a specific type?"

"Social."

It's brief and Harry adds nothing else but it's enough for Zayn to gather that the man laying beside him is more than a complicated puzzle. It was difficult to put together all the pieces in order to understand the complexity that is Harry Styles. There would always be that last piece that didn't quite fit and you're forced to start over wondering where you went wrong. Nobody can deny the 26 year old radiated charm, elegance and confidence, Harry and social anxiety just didn't fit.

"People forget some of the most confident can be some of the most socially anxious." Harry speaks up almost as if he'd read Zayn's thoughts. Or maybe he's just so used to justifying his mental illness to the many people in the past who have questioned it.

~  
When Zayn wakes up the next morning he spots a tall figure striding across the room in full leather gear, gun in hand. He stops at the small jewelry box that's always perfectly placed on the satin mid sized cabinet inches from the window.   
"Morning" Harry says in a monotone voice and it's almost creepy the way he's not looking at Zayn yet seemed to notice he was awake. "Heard you shift on the bed." He adds almost reading Zayn's thoughts for the second time that day and locks a rosary around his neck.

"You've got really good hearing." The younger boy clears the blanket off his naked body, crawling to the edge of the bed and sits on the back of his knees. "How are you feeling today?" His eyes dart back and forth watching Harry collect his necessities for the day.

"Fine. I've got work." He says quickly and abruptly, already heading for the door. It's when he reaches for the door that Zayn speaks up again.

"Are you sure you're okay? You had a pretty rough night." Harry rolls his eyes and turns to face the younger boy once again with a hard stare.

"I said I'm fine, now stay put."

"I'm not a dog"

"Haven't proven otherwise." And with that Harry's gone, the door slamming shut behind him leaving a confused Zayn with a bruised ego and clenched jaws.

~

Harry's been sitting by Louis' opened cold chamber in the morgue for about half an hour now. It's 30 minutes to 9 and he's got a shitload of work to do but can't seem to make himself move.

"Sitting by him for eternity isn't going to bring him back to life Harry." A voice speaks up and with heavy eyes, Harry looks up to find his older sister, arms covered in cuts and striding over to him casually before taking a seat on the floor in front of him.

"Why can't I move?" Harry whispers, the back of his head pressed against one of the cold chambers as he watches his sister's eyes tiredly.

"You were in love with him at one point Harry, and then he became your only best friend, one of the few people you ever trusted. Your body is in shock, as if it's lost one of its limbs. Moving is the last thing it wants to do." Gemma watches her younger brother with concerned eyes, resting a hand on his knee carefully. "You know it's alright to cry H."

And with that Harry chuckles, last night's events replaying in his head. "I did cry last night actually. A lot. To Zayn."

"You mean the pretty boy you're always drooling over?" Gemma raises an accusatory brow, Harry giving her a small helpless smile. "Did you have any episodes?"

Harry nods, his head heavy and runs a hand through his long curls to keep them from falling into his eyes again. Gemma notices his discomfort and gestures for her younger brother to turn around, scooting up behind him to pull his hair back. "Was it as bad as the night you found Andrew?" She asks carefully, gathering his hair together in one hand then removing a hair tie from her wrist with her teeth and tying up his curls in a messy bun. Harry shakes his head before turning around to face her again, hands folded in his lap.

"No but last night reminded me why I can't trust anybody." He shakes his head again this time with a frown on his lips, and eyes on the floor before looking back up at his sister with furrowed eyebrows. "They all leave Gem. And if they aren't leaving they're asking questions and Zayn.." He breathes out a soft chuckle, scratching at the short hairs across his chin gently. "asks a lot of questions. When I broke down yesterday it's like he saw it as a pass to intrude on my personal life, as if I owe him my life story-"

"But does he see it that way." Gemma asks, Harry twisting his mouth to the side because of course he hadn't really thought of it that way. "Where'd you meet the bloke anyways?" The younger of the two shrugs sheepishly, biting down on his lip, Gemma smacking his thigh with the back of her hand. "I told you to stop picking people off the streets H! Someone's most likely looking for him!"

"He's a runaway, no one's looking for him, not even his friends. I was careful." But Gemma still smacks his thigh again with a frown on her lips.

"What do you know about this guy anyways? Other than the fact that he's pretty."

Harry sighs, shaking his head slightly before parting his lips to speak. "I know that he grew up in Bradford England before coming to DC. I know that his father was either afraid of abandonment or had a busy job so he never got married. He doesn't know his mother because she was a surrogate, he doesn't want to go back home to his father out of fear, he's very good in combat and can list off weapons without stuttering once." Harry's eyes light up a bit as the corner of his lips twitch, forming a helpless smile. "I know that he's a worrier, when I go out he always tells me to be careful, I know that he's witty and funny. When he laughs, the corner of his eyes crinkle and his ears wiggle a little bit. I know that the only time he's really happy is when he smiles and his tongue presses to the back of his teeth-"

"Do you know that you're head over heels for him?"

Harry closes his mouth, watching his sister intently and swallows hard, digging his fingertips into his palm.

~

"I tried reading your book and I couldn't get through the first sentence without cringing." Zayn says as Harry walks into the bedroom later that night. "You still never told me why you read this damn book." He says again when Harry doesn't answer, kicking off his shoes and removing his gun from his waist. "Are you gonna say something--"

"You know you ask a lot of fucking questions." Harry slams the body of his gun down on the cabinet before turning around to give Zayn a hard stare. "Maybe if you shut the hell up for ten seconds--"

"Excuse me?"

"I don't owe you shit and I sure as hell am not obligated to tell you my life story." Harry states with hands resting behind him against the cabinet. With a sigh, Zayn stands up on his knees on the mattress, gesturing with his hand for Harry to come to him. He's hesitant but Harry finally does push himself off the cabinet, making his way over to the younger boy warily.

"This morning when I asked if you were sure you were okay I wasn't asking you to open up about anything, I was just worried." He gives Harry a look almost asking with his eyes if he understands but Harry shakes his head, looking back into those whiskey eyes.

"I don't need to be babied."

"I'm not babying you H, I care about you and your wellbeing." Zayn rolls his eyes, resting a hand on the side of Harry's neck, fingers slightly grazing his jaw. He leans in and presses a quick but gentle peck to Harry's lips, pulling back to nudge their noses together.

"Zayn I haven't.." Harry exhales softly, Zayn taking the chance to slip his tongue in the older man's mouth, Harry keening into the kiss and allowing his hands to find their way to Zayn's hips, squeezing gently. "I haven't done this in a while." He whispers into the kiss and it's the second time Harry's letting the walls around him crumble for the Bradford boy to see just how vulnerable he really is.

"Done what?"

"Let someone in."

Zayn parts his lips and nods slightly with furrowed brows and sits back on his knees, Harry climbing on the bed to sit in front of him.

"But once I do I'm an open book and fuck man that terrifies me." Harry holds his gaze, and Zayn can't help but lean forward to press their lips together once again but the kiss is deeper and more passionate. They're using each other's air to breathe and Zayn feels his body heating up, he swears he's going to catch fire the way Harry grips his hips and pulls him unto his lap. When Zayn pulls away he wishes he hadn't. They're both breathless and flushing, Harry's pale skin making it more noticeable on his cheeks. No one knows what to say so Harry just blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

"It leaves me with more questions than answers."

"What?" Zayn furrows his brows and Harry nudges his head over to where Zayn had tossed his book at the head of the bed.

"Every time I read it I'm left with more questions than answers. About why people seek shelter in those that hurt them." Harry explains, dropping his hands from Zayn's hips to rest them against his thighs. "The whole concept of Stockholm Syndrome and how the hostage forms a bond with their captor has always been something I couldn't understand. And I don't think I ever will but for the sake of my dad and Andrew, I want to try.

"Your parents were abusive?" Zayn asks locking his legs around Harry's waist and rests his hands in his lap, listening intently.

"My father was. Verbally abusive though, he never hit Andrew once but the way he spoke to him was just as, maybe more damaging. He always came home late and picked fights with Drew. My father never drank more than he could handle so I'm not sure how he became so.. verbally aggressive. He would call Andrew every name in the book, said he was worthless and pathetic, I can never remember why they would fight but it never got physical. I had my first anxiety attack when me and Louis were trying to find my PlayStation controller. I remembered Drew had taken it the night before because I wouldn't finish my homework." Harry chuckles, subconsciously playing with Zayn's fingers. "But uh I went into his closet and he'd tossed my controller on the floor but I also saw something peeking out from his shoe. Was a gun and underneath was a suicide note Andrew had written. The thing is when Louis wasn't around Drew was the closest person I had to a best friend even if he was significantly older than me we were.. we were really close and the thought of him leaving triggered something in me and suddenly I couldn't breathe." Harry looks up from his hands through his eyelashes into Zayn's eyes as the younger boy rests a hand on his cheek, the pad of his thumb caressing the skin with careful strokes. "Anyway it turns out Andrew was just keeping that for the day he really wanted to end it all. I clung to him even more than before after that day and distanced myself from my father."

"Why did he stay with him?" Zayn asked, shaking his head in confusion. "He may not have physically beat him but he did a hell of a lot worse."

"If you put a frog in boiling water it'll jump out immediately. But if you put a frog in warm water then slowly heat it up it'll remain until it dies." Harry speaks up sadly, looking into Zayn's honey eyes with his own green ones. "That's how a toxic relationship works."

And you're stealing every breath


	12. Chapter 12

Do things that'll make you sick

But I get away with it

"I'm nervous." Zayn watches the reflection of his own hands anxiously in the mirror as he carefully knots the tie to his suit. He shifts his gaze to the Harry who's looming behind him, fixing his satin dress shirt. They'd flown over for the week along with Liam to Doncaster from Washington to attend Louis' funeral and it may have not meant anything to Harry but this was the first time Zayn would be meeting Harry's mother and have a proper conversation with his sister. It's been a week since Louis' death and Gemma left just as quickly as she came into the house that Zayn had never gotten the chance to introduce himself.

"If it's about my mom don't worry about not liking her, I hate her too." Harry shrugs, pushing his bangs away from his eyes with his dark sunglasses letting them sit on his head.

"You hate everybody." Zayn rolls his eyes, fixing his gelled up hair before meeting Harry's green eyes in the mirror. Harry breathes out a sigh snaking his arms around Zayn's lean waist to rest his chin on Zayn's shoulder.

"Not everybody." He gives Zayn a small smile and pulls back but not before turning his head to press his lips to the younger boy's neck lovingly. It makes him bite back a smile at the tingling feeling against his tan skin. Harry walks across their hotel room to pick up his black fedora. He wasn't sure if he was ready to see his mother again after so long. The last time he'd seen her face was in court to testify against her own son. "If we head out now we can make it to the eulogy." He looks back at Zayn who's sliding his pistol into the designated strap wrapped around his leg then sliding his pant leg back down. "Are you that scared of my mother?"

"Are you that scared of those mosquitos with long legs?" Zayn raises his eyebrow questionably, eyes shining with mischief and smirks when Harry doesn't give him an answer.

~

Zayn and Harry get to the top of the hill when a woman bearing an undeniable resemblance to Louis is walking away from the coffins in tears, heading back into the crowd. Harry leads the younger boy into the crowd of crying men and women to the front, keeping their hands intertwined when they stop. He seems to squeeze Zayn's hand a little harder than usual, prompting Zayn to look up at him quickly. He notices Harry's got a hard stare focused on the opposite side of the arch the crowd had formed around Louis' corpse in its coffin. Zayn shifts his gaze from Harry's eyes to the woman he's looking at. She's got dark brown hair just like his though straighter and possesses his face structure. She's standing beside Gemma but isn't looking back at her son.

"Would anybody else want to say a few words?" The priest looks up from the bible he's holding, scanning the crowd patiently. No one speaks up, Zayn looking at Harry in confusion before nudging him gently with furrowed eyebrows.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" He leans in to whisper and Harry just shakes his head, continuing to stare ahead at his mother. Zayn bites down on his lip nervously before releasing Harry's hand and walking slowly towards the mahogany coffin. "I'd like to say something."

"What are you doing." Harry whispers with a frown and hard stare boring directly into Zayn's own brown eyes. The Pakistani man turns and faces the crowd, clearing his throat before beginning.

"I didn't really know Louis for long, we didn't get along much either but I'm sure he would've loved being buried by his grandparents. Louis was fiercely loyal to his best friends, especially my b-" Zayn swallows and continues, pretending as though he hadn't made a mistake. "Especially Harry. He was very reasonable, and protective-"

"That's right, he protected you, he spent his life looking out for you." The woman that beared a similar resemblance to Louis steps out of the crowd with swollen eyes and a red face, lips formed in a deep frown.

"Johannah.." Harry's mother tries to take Johannah's by her hand but she wasn't close to finished.

"Johannah we can talk about this later, Louis wouldn't want us arguing here-" Harry starts calmly.

"You don't know what my son wanted." She sneers, stepping closer to him. "He followed you everywhere, even dropped off the face of the earth with you doing God knows what."

"That was his choice."

"But you wanted him to! He did everything you wanted him to and it got him killed!" She cries, hot tears already rolling down his cheeks. "You murdered my son!"

"Mom, come on." A young girl steps out of the crowd who Zayn registers as Johannah's daughter and takes the crying woman's hand, leading her away from Harry slowly. Zayn suddenly feels awkward and out of place but most of all sorry.. He walks back over to Harry and gives him an apologetic look but Harry disregards it, shaking his head slowly and taking his hand once again to gesture that everything is okay.

Harry turns away once workers begin to lower Louis' coffin and doesn't turn around once. He simply walks away, Zayn in tow once the funeral comes to an end and never looks back. When they get to the bottom of the hill, Zayn steps up to Harry cautiously who's looking down at the cement with a deep frown, and rests his hands at the side of Harry's neck, prompting the older man to look up at his lover.

"You didn't kill him." Zayn states and Harry just averts his gaze. What Johannah said shouldn't have hit him so hard but lately he's become soft and sensitive. He'd tried to speak to her during the burial, she couldnt watch her son go 6 ft under either. But she just clung to Liam who gave him a dirty look. He was always her favourite of Louis' friends. "I know that, and you know that and she knows that Harry."

"What did I do to deserve you" Harry's lips tug up in a smile as he reaches a hand up to run his thumb along Zayn's bottom lip before leaning in to press a kiss there gently. Harry stops mid way when he hears his name, his nose brushing against Zayn's as he pulls back to face his mother with a sigh. "Anne."

"Harry it's been so long look how big you are." She smiles, Gemma by her side giving Harry a warning look. Almost as if to say play nice. "It's so nice to see you."

"You too." Harry says in a monotone voice before taking Zayn's hand in his entwining their fingers. "This is Zayn, my boyfriend."

And Zayn chokes on his own spit, turning away to cough into his sleeve, Harry furrowing his eyebrows before resting a hand on the younger boy's back rubbing soothing circles against his skin. "I'm good." He chokes out, facing Harry's family once again before swallowing and reaching his hand out to shake Anne's hand. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Styles."

"Oh please just call me Anne." She insists and Zayn nods with a grin before turning to Harry's sister.

"Nice to finally meet you properly." Zayn chuckles, prompting Gemma to laugh as well. Zayn's got a contagious laugh and she's sure Harry agreed.

"So you're gay." Anne speaks up once they've properly introduced themselves and Harry nods, giving her a smile.

"Yup, just like dad." He adds, to which Anne frowns, and Zayn senses they've hit a dangerous topic so he injects himself in the conversation.

"Don't you live in Holmes Chapel, did you commute the 2 hour drive here?" He interrupts, thumb subconsciously rubbing against Harry's knuckles.

"Yes we did we're about to head home right now in fact." Anne answers before her eyes light up and her lips tug up to a smile almost identical to Harry's. "Gemma told me you lot are staying for the week why don't you stay in Holmes Chapel with us. Harry can show you his hometown and we can all catch up yeah?"

"We're also here on business Anne, we don't have the time, I apologize." Harry says in a formal tone that gets to his mother because the two were like strangers, to Harry more like enemies.

"We'll try to make it for wednesday at the latest I promise you." Zayn gives her a reassuring smile to which Harry grunts in disapproval. They say their goodbyes and split up to head their different ways, Harry releasing Zayn's hand out of spite and walks faster ahead towards their range rover. "You're being a baby." Zayn points out, raising his voice so Harry can hear him.

"Fuck you." Harry spits, getting into the driver's seat and shutting the door before turning on the ignition and speeding out of the parking lot leaving Zayn stranded.

Just one of the things you hate

I don't mean to hurt you but I do


	13. Chapter 13

He's got his own reasons

For talking to me

Zayn shuts the door to his and Harry's hotel room, walking down the two small steps that lead into the rest of the large suite. Harry is in his dark gear already, suitcases opened all over the king sized bed displaying an array of weapons. He's surrounded by three other men, assembling together three separate rifles specifically used by military snipers.

"Your mom drove me back." Zayn speaks up and Harry lifts up his head to meet the brown eyes from across the room and looking back down loading his favourite handgun. He shuts the suitcases, zipping them up before gesturing for the three men to make their way outside. "I thought we were doing this with just Liam, why are they here?" Zayn asks, watching as the three exit their hotel room. He's not sure how three grown men in all black holding assault rifles are going to make their way through a fully booked hotel subtly but they have their ways.

"They do things differently over here, the english jurisdiction won't let us go in without backup." Harry shrugs, walking up to his boyfriend casually and Zayn furrows his eyebrows, narrowing his eyes at the older man.

"You mean this whole hitman business has gone international?" He watches as Harry ties up his long hair in a bun with a shrug, giving Zayn a blank look.

"You should get ready we're heading out soon, I'm sure Liam's still got a pistol or something left." Harry evades the question, returning back to the bed to store away the suitcases. Zayn sighs, knowing this wasn't the time to pick a fight. Harry was unnaturally calm after their encounter with his mother but simultaneously furious. He was unstable and Zayn was not about to make things worse. He turns on his heels, heading out of the suite and down the hallway to Liam's room next door. When he reaches his hand up to knock, he realizes there's a crack in the door and Liam was having a conversation with somebody inside. When Zayn peeks through the small gap he sees the man he'd passed in the hallway earlier on the way to his room. He's a dark brunette, noticeably taller than Zayn, taller than Harry even. To say he's built is an understatement the guy could knock Zayn out with his pinky if he wanted.

"I saw him in the hallway and I'm not sure where but I've seen him before. The name Zayn just rings a bell." He shakes his head in confusion, pacing the room slowly as Liam watched him from where he's sitting on his bed.

"Harry and I checked his file numerous times, he hasn't been to England since he was just a child Aaron." Liam shakes his head, hands folded in his lap as Aaron bites down on his thumb gently.

"I swear he used to fuck with my former boss or something like that. I swear I recognize his face somewhere."

Zayn narrows his eyes and frown, confused before stepping back from the door, heading back to his hotel room where Harry is waiting patiently. He raises his eyebrows once Zayn returns with no weapons whatsoever and shakes his head questionably.

"What's up, did Liam underpack also?" Harry asks but Zayn just shakes his head, striding towards their closet and opens it to bring out his suitcase containing his gear.

"Nah I just thought there's no point having a gun when I'm just gonna be staying in the car you know?" He unzips the luggage, pulling out his clothes and heading towards the bathroom. Harry nods in agreement and stands up from where he's sitting, stalking Zayn to the bathroom to lean against the opened doorway as Zayn changes.

"You're gonna be in the car with Aaron he's a good shot, one of the best actually but I still want to find you something to at least defend yourself yeah? Don't want you getting hurt."

"What? Harry Styles actually giving a shit about me? Quelle suprise." Zayn exclaims dramatically, finishing up on adjusting the top half of his body gear then turning to face his boyfriend. Harry frowns noticeably, walking up to Zayn and cups his cheek with a hand, looking down into the pair of angry whiskey brown eyes.

"I care about you. A lot more than you think Zayn." He rests his thumb on Zayn's bottom lip before brushing it up against his tan cheek swiftly. Zayn rolls his eyes and tilts his head away once Harry leans in to kiss him.

"You left me in a parking lot half an hour drive away from our hotel in a town I have never set foot in till today." Zayn turns back to him with a hard gaze and clenched jaws. He was tired of being submissive and letting Harry drag him around. "Listen you may have been able to get away with shit in all your other relationships but that's not how this is going to work. I have way too much respect for myself to put up with your bullshit. Let's go get this done." He turns his back to Harry, walking out of the bathroom with a scowl and across the suite to exit into the hallway.

~

"Snipers are on the roof right above the car right now in case you need backup, once you've finished don't worry about cleaning up the bodies we've got a cleaning crew waiting down the street for their cue." Aaron briefs Liam and Harry who are seated at the back of the car, before they jump out of the black van, heading across the street calmly to the large elizabethan mansion sitting on the small hill.

"Do you know who's in there?" Zayn asks, watching the pair disable the gate security then climb over the fence, heading up the long driveway. He turns his head to Aaron with curious eyes, elbow still rested on the window sill.

"Group of hitmen from across the U.K meeting up at their usual time to talk about God knows what." Aaron answers and shuts off the engine of the van, turning to face Zayn. "My boss wants them dead, take out the competition you know. It's a personal favour from Liam and Harry."

"Harry never tells me anything I'm always completely in the dark." Zayn shakes his head and leans down to open the suitcase on the car floor, pulling out the syringe placed gently inside. "This is all he gave me to defend myself not even a gun just a syringe full of some paralytic with a long ass name I will never remember." He lays back against the chair, syringe between his fingers and turns his head to look at Aaron who chuckles, bringing his hand off the steering wheel.

"That paralytic with a long ass name you'll never remember is actually quite useful."

"Yeah? I'd like to test that theory." Zayn sits up with a soft smile before lunging forward pushing the needle into Aaron's carotid artery in his neck and injecting the white substance into his body.

"Son of a bitch!" Aaron grunts loudly and before he can reach for his gun, his limbs have gone numb and all he can move is his lips and eyelids. Zayn sets the syringe back down in it's case carefully, before locking it and skillfully straddles the immobilized englishman.

"It sucks you don't remember me Aaron, after what we had I admit I'm a little hurt." Zayn reaches down into the crevice between the door and the driver's seat to pick up Aaron's gun, sitting back straight up to look down into the hitman's eyes. Zayn tugs at the collar of his shirt revealing a large snake tattoo on his shoulder, and watches as something flashes across Aaron's eyes that makes him scowl looking up at Zayn much angrier than before.

"I didn't recognized you with the long hair and innocent act." Aaron's lips tug up in a familiar smirk Zayn remembers even after 4 years. "You've been gone for so long Zayn is that where you've been this entire time? Up Harry's ass?" He asks and the mischievous look in his eyes doesn't dim when the cold metal of his silver gun meets his forehead. "Oh please you're not gonna kill me love, then you won't get what you want."

"I could simply ask H, he's been wrapped around my fingers since day 1." Zayn leans down with a calm look on his face, lips grazing against Aaron's before he whispers in his ear quietly. "Just like you were." He pulls back to grin at the look of rage and hurt on Aaron's face, the man beneath him grunting angrily.

"The way I heard it, he's got you hooked." Aaron lifts his eyelids to meet Zayn's challenging eyes that are narrowed, glaring back at him. "Liam says you two are head over heels in love with each other. Never seen anything like it. 'With a bit more training they could be the deadliest couple in America.'" Aaron imitates Liam word for word but shuts his mouth as soon as Zayn pulls down the safety with a hard stare.

"I work alone." He grits out through his clenched teeth but it only spurs Aaron on even more. They'd always been like this, always trying to push each other to the very edge. They didn't just cross lines, they dragged them to hell and back.

"Well I think just like every other human on this planet you've found the one person who's made you question every single thing you stand for, every rule you follow. Someone who's made you think maybe being alone isn't all that bad."

There's a silence in the car as Zayn bores holes into Aaron's eyes and vice versa. For once Zayn's thoughts are elsewhere and not completely focused with the task at hand until he narrows his eyes and tilts his head slightly.

"You're stalling." He realizes, and shakes his head as Aaron gives him one of his charming cheeky grins. Zayn chuckles, picking up Aaron's left hand and slipping his index finger in the hollow metal around the trigger. "You were right about one thing, I'm not going to kill you." Zayn explains guiding Aaron's numb hand up to his own temple, with a stoic expression. "You're going to kill yourself."

"You remembered I'm left handed." Aaron stalls, giving Zayn a smirk to keep as composed as he possibly could. He knew the look Zayn got when he wasn't bluffing, when he was determined to get answers. He knew what Zayn was capable of. That's why he's one of the deadliest assassins in possibly the entire world.

"Where are they Aaron." Zayn asks once more with a firm voice and he knows what Zayn's looking for so Aaron gives him his signature smile and answers.

"Burn in hell."

"Wrong answer." Zayn pulls the trigger without blinking and doesn't flinch as blood splatters onto his face, setting the gun down in Aaron's lap and moving to the passenger's seat just as swiftly but not before pulling out the switch blade that had been in Aaron's pocket. He looks down at his watch and realizes he's got close to 2 minutes left. Harry always takes the longest during assignments because of his incapability to just go in and out. He thrives off power and control and loves when people are forced to submit to him so it's no surprise that half the time he's just torturing targets instead of finishing the job. Zayn brings the switch blade to his arms, creating small cuts with them, blood barely rising to the surface. Then he slits the back of his wrist, biting down on his bottom lip as he pushes the knife deeper creating a giant gash across his right arm, midway to his elbow. Clearing his throat, Zayn drops the bloody knife in the driver's side of the car on the floor. He reaches in his pocket, pulling out his phone, ignoring the fact that the screen is stained with his blood.

"Zayn?" Harry answers his phone quickly, already running straight out of the house. Zayn whimpers into the speaker of his phone, breathing raggedly.

"I was just asking him about his job and then he attacked me with his knife." Zayn explains into the phone tiredly, his energy draining. He's losing blood quickly but he knows by the time Harry gets to the car he'll be fine. "He just shot himself Harry, I'm sorry I don't know what I did." Harry doesn't answer. Instead, the passenger's door flings open and Harry carries Zayn into his arms quickly, bringing him to the back seat where the first aid box is.

"What the hell happened?!" Liam exclaims, staring at Aaron's limp body in the driver's seat before shifting his gaze to Harry who's wrapping Zayn's wrists up in gauge at the speed of light. Zayn meets Liam's eyes, streaks of tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I was just curious about his job, I- I didn't mean to- He just attacked me and asked who I work for." Zayn shakes his head and winces when Harry puts too much pressure on the bandage trying to cut it.

Liam sighs, leaning against the door of the car "They don't do that here Zayn, you can't ask too many questions they'll get suspicious and the only way to make sure no one gets answers out of you is to kill themselves."

"I didn't know that man what the fuck he could've just told me to stop asking questions instead of attacking me!" Zayn cries.

"Liam we have to get out of here, get Aaron into the house and the cleanup crew will take care of the rest. I'll bring the car down the street, meet me there." Liam's already dragging Aaron out as Harry is speaking along with the gun and switchblade, heading back up the hill into the house as quickly as he can without being noticed. Harry helps Zayn to sit properly in the backseat, the younger apologizing profusely.

"If I had known I swear I wouldn't have pried in so much, I'm sorry Harry." But Harry just shakes his head, resting his forehead against Zayn's and strokes his cheek gently, giving Zayn a reassuring smile.

"Everything's going to be okay, let's just get you back to the hotel alright? I'm just glad I didn't lose you." Harry mumbles, pressing his lips to Zayn's and he doesn't know if it's out of fear or joy but he pours his heart out into the kiss, Zayn pressing his hand to the back of Harry's neck to bring him closer, digging his fingers into the pale skin. When Harry pulls back breathless, Zayn nudges their noses together, keeping their foreheads against each other. Zayn squeezes his eyes shut, almost completely forgetting where he is until Harry steps back to shut the car door, rushing to the driver's side of the car. He jumps into the driver's seat, disregarding the pool of blood by the pedals and splatter against the windshield. Liam jumps into the passenger's seat quickly, shutting his door as well and gives Harry a strange look as he's putting on his seatbelt.

"Said you'd be up the road, why are you still here?" He asks and Harry starts the engine, meeting Zayn's eyes in the mirror briefly.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted."

He don't give a fuck

About what I need


	14. Chapter 14

I've been feeling everything

From hate to love, From love to lust

From lust to truth

"Zayn I need to know everything so Liam and I are on the same page when people start asking questions." Harry looks up into Zayn's eyes as he pushes the threading needle into one side of the gash across Zayn's forearm, the younger boy tilting his head back, lip caught between his teeth. He nods in understanding but winces just when he's about to part his lips to speak. Harry whispers an apology before bringing the thread through and piercing Zayn's skin again with the needle, pulling it through from the other side. "Last one, I promise" He reassures his boyfriend in a soothing tone, glancing up once again with concern to make sure Zayn is holding up okay.

"I asked him who's in the house that's so important." Zayn starts and clears his throat once Harry starts up again at the last point of his wound. "He told me you guys were doing his boss a favour, so I asked him if what you guys do is international and he said from what he knows there may possibly be hitmen across the world. Then me being the dumbass that I am kept asking questions. Asked him where he's based and what he does specifically cause back home there's computer guys and coroners and I was just curiou- fuck!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Harry finishes off the stitch quickly, leaning up from his stool and presses several kisses to Zayn's lips, resting a hand on his thigh to stroke the skin there gently, Zayn relaxing against his touch. "We're done for today, we'll finish off the other arm tomorrow yeah?" Zayn nods and wipes his tear stained cheek quickly, looking down to watch Harry rewrap his arm tightly with gauge.

"I'm still really sorry about your friend." Zayn mumbles quietly, gazing back into Harry's forest green eyes when they glance up at him. Harry just shakes his head, gesturing for Zayn to forget it with a small smile before standing up from his stool, running a hand through his damp hair that's held up. Zayn has the privilege of watching Harry remove the elastic from around his bun, waves of curls dropping to Harry's neck and shoulders.

"I'll have a talk with Liam and be right back alright?" Harry interjects, slipping the elastic band onto his wrist and running his fingers through his curls, massaging his scalp. Zayn nods, standing up from the bed and watching Harry head out of their suite, shutting the door behind him. Once Zayn hears the door lock, his entire demeanor changes, a loss of innocence in his eyes and frown on his lips. Zayn walks over to the nightstand by the bed to where Harry had set the suitcase containing the paralytic. He kneels down, quickly unlocking the case to reveal the empty syringe and small jar with the remaining of the clear liquid inside. Zayn opens the jar and picks up the syringe to place the needle into the liquid, pulling back the plunger slowly. He watches cautiously as the paralytic fills the syringe, placing all the items back carefully where they'd been and shutting the suitcase, locking it quickly.

~

"Harry?" A voice whispers in the dark and Harry grunts in response, burying his nose further in Zayn's hair. They were both in bed, legs tangled like vines and Harry's chest pressed up against Zayn's back and arms wrapped around his boy protectively. "What's gonna happen to Aaron?" He asks curiously and Harry just breathes out, snuggling closer to the other man as his hand instinctively finds Zayn's, fingers entwining fondly.

"The coroner usually takes care of bodies, so I'm not sure."

Zayn nods, sucking his bottom lip before parting his lips to ask another question. "Harry?"

"Hm."

"Are we still going to see your mom?" Another grunt and Zayn frowns, turning around to face Harry with furrowed eyebrows.

"You're bleeding out as we speak Zayn." Harry retorts and rolls his eyes when Zayn gives him a look almost as if to say even if he was missing all his limbs they were getting their asses to Holmes Chapel.

"I wanna see you where you grew up."

"I hate that place Z, it's got nothing but shitty memories." Harry gazes into Zayn's honey eyes with sadness in his own. Zayn could tell Harry was being genuine but so was he. He wanted to know more about the legendary Harry Styles. What made him the person he is today and how? What caused his social anxiety? Why did he hate his own mother so much? Zayn sighs and reaches his hand up, cupping Harry's jaw with his thumb pressed against the older's cheek. He leans in and captures Harry's lips between his in an intimate kiss, his hand sliding from his jaw down to the side of his neck slowly.

"We'll make some good memories then." He mumbles into the kiss and Harry pulls back from the kiss hesitantly, looking down at Zayn with furrowed eyebrows before nodding gently.

"I'd really like that."

~

Zayn and Harry arrive in Holmes Chapel just before dusk, stepping up to the porch of Anne's home hand in hand before Harry hesitantly knocks on the door. When Gemma opened the door the first thing she did was shriek about Zayn's arm which took about half an hour to explain as they got settled into the home. Anne was making dinner when the two had arrived and when she saw her son she could not stop beaming. Although that changed when she went in for a hug but he just stuck his hand out to shake her own. It was uncomfortable and awkward, Zayn cringing then bringing Anne in for a hug when she turns to the Pakistani boy, squeezing her body gently with a soft smile. He rolls his eyes when he hears Harry grunt in disapproval, rubbing Anne's back soothingly.

After the couple had gotten settled, luggage in Harry's room that had remained the same since he'd moved to Washington, Harry gives Zayn a tour of the house, memories flooding his mind. Everything else looked exactly as the day he'd left other than the pictures Anne had replaced in the frames above the fireplace. The walls were still an orange beige with white couches in the family area that were hard as rock to stop 13 year old Harry from sleeping on them at night while playing video games. The kitchen still had white tile floors, and a breakfast island with an arch entry that was just a couple of feet away from the dinner table. Everything was the same. Everything still held the same shitty memories.

At dinner, Harry brings up the man he'd seen in the frames above the fireplace. It definitely wasn't Harry's father and most of those pictures were as recent as last month.

"That's Robin, my husband." She says with a smile and Harry chokes on his potato, putting down his fork slowly, glancing at his mother with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?"

"He's on a business trip in Ireland at the moment, left yesterday morning but he doesn't get back until Friday. We can facetime with him any time though if you want, he's been really excited to meet you." Anne explains with a smile. "He's got a son about your age, name's Michael. He's the sweetest boy and actually just got promoted to CEO of the Gucci manufacturing company in London." Harry clears his throat with a nod, stabbing another potato with his fork mumbling under his breath.

"Got yourself a whole new family."

"It's been 13 years since you and Des left to America, you expected me to just stay here alone?" When Anne defends herself, Harry drops his fork on his plate loudly, looking up at her with cold eyes.

"Really. That's what you've been telling yourself for 13 years? We left." Harry laughs dryly, picking up the napkin that had been resting on his lap and tossing it on the table. "He took me. Dad took me and you let him."

"That is not true." Anne shakes her head in disagreement.

Zayn watches the interaction between the two cautiously like an atomic bomb could go off at any time, nibbling on his unseasoned chicken.

"So you never told him to leave and take his son with him? After you told the entire fucking town that he was gay? After 13 years you've been telling people that we left?"

"Harry-" Gemma hisses to keep him quiet but Harry had a lot more to say.

"They beat me Mum!" Harry exclaims as his british accent pushes through. Anne's heart breaks as her son calls her his mother for the first time since they'd seen each other again. "And when dad told you, you fucking sent me away with him! I needed you and you abandoned me with the one man that ruined my life." Harry was seething. His chest kept rising and falling heavily and the only thing keeping him in his seat was Zayn's hand on his thigh under the table, squeezing tightly every now and then.

"Harry I am so sorry, I will never be able to apologize enough." Anne pleads, her voice shaking as she keeps herself from crying.

"I really wish I could put a bullet through your skull." Harry says truthfully, jaws clenched and Zayn's lips fall open, turning his head to stare at Harry in shock. His hand slips from Harry's thigh as the room goes quiet, Anne breaking into tears which prompts Gemma to rush to her quickly. She'd always been the one to take care of their mother, she was always the favourite and Harry couldn't stand it. He stands up from his chair aggressively, heading out of the sitting room to find his way to the backyard.

Harry had been standing against the side of the house for 15 minutes with arms crossed as he glares up at the stars as if they'd done him wrong when Zayn finally steps out into the backyard, watching his boyfriend carefully.

"That was a bit dramatic." Zayn cracks a joke, frowning when Harry doesn't even so much as glare at him in annoyance. Just keeps watching the stars.

"I told you I didn't want to come here, too many bad memories." Harry says in his deep voice quietly, turning his head to look at Zayn with reddened eyes. He'd obviously been crying which was a rare occasion for Harry. Zayn walks up to him cautiously, leaning up to wrap his arms around Harry's neck in a tight hug, letting the older man snake his arms around him, fisting the back of his shirt in his hands. They stand there for about two minutes, just in each other's arms and bodies swaying every so often.

"And I told you, we would make good ones." Zayn mumbles into Harry's neck before the two pull away a bit, Harry looking into Zayn's eyes longingly before giving him a small nod.

"You up for a drive?"

I guess that's how I know you


	15. Chapter 15

I'm sorry if I say I need you

Harry was taking Zayn deep into the thick woods at the edge of Holmes Chapel. Zayn didn't know why but it was becoming less romantic and more borderline sacrificial. He noticed that since they got there Harry had counted his steps in the direction they were headed. Once he reaches step 462, they get to a clearing that encircled just one tree. Zayn doesn't know what type of tree it is but seeing as he's going to die soon he might never know. Harry lets out a shaky breath that prompts Zayn to look at him quickly with concern. He has a tremor in his hands and Zayn frowns pulling away to step in front of the 26 year old.

"When I was 13 a group of boys grabbed me on my way home from school and brought me here." Harry mumbles, eyes fixated on the tree that rose till it over towered most of the other trees in the forest, it's branches extended like wings. "They hung me by my wrists from one of the branches and began beating me with baseball bats, calling me a faggot." Harry turns his head to look at Zayn who's looking back at him with sad eyes and a frown on his lips. "See I didn't even know I was gay" He shakes his head with a chuckle, and takes Zayn's hand in his, entwining their fingers before swinging their arms slowly. "But then I realized they were just too pussy to go after my dad, scared to get their ass kicked. And when he went to my mother about it, she told him to get out of her house and take his son with him."

"H." Zayn wraps his arms around Harry's neck, locking his fingers together as Harry's own hands instinctively find their way to his waist. "I haven't experienced even an eighth of all the shit you've been through, the universe is one fucked up place but the shit it's thrown at you, made you who you are today. You're the strongest person I know and I will ever know. You really didn't have to risk triggering your anxiety to bring me here H but I'm glad you did."

"No I had to bring you here." Harry nods with a smile before releasing the boy's waist, stepping backwards and leading Zayn along by his hand until his back hits the trunk of the tree. "I want to make good memories." And Zayn gives him a toothy grin, letting Harry pull him in close, their chests pressing against one another. It doesn't stay on his mind for too long but this is the first time Harry's felt genuinely happy in 12 years and his chest feels constricted along with the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, maybe fireworks or an atomic bomb but he didn't want the feeling to ever fade. He tilts Zayn's chin up, dipping his head down to press a kiss to his lips when Zayn suddenly mumbles,

"You called me your boyfriend."

Harry furrows his eyebrows, pulling back slightly to look down at his partner, shaking his head in confusion. "That was like 4 days ago, you're bringing this up now?"

"Well yes, you just said it out of the blue, just assuming I would want to be in a relationship with you." Zayn rolls his eyes, pulling back completely but keeping their hands still entwined.

"You haven't said anything until now so I'm assuming I was right to assume." Harry argues and Zayn just tilts his head with a small frown that's really more of a pout but Zayn's masculinity is too fragile to admit that.

"I just want you to ask me." Zayn shrugs, swinging their arms slowly as he meets Harry's eyes. "Makes it more real."

Harry sighs, his back still against the trunk of the large tree and looks over at Zayn through his eyelashes. "I make all of this more real, the abandonment becomes real too." The response takes Zayn by surprise but he's quick to reassure Harry that this is what he wants and that he's not going anywhere.

"It's a good thing I'm not leaving then." He shrugs again before stepping up to the older man, eyes fixated on his pink lips then shifting his gaze back to Harry's eyes. "Ask me."

"Will you be mine?" Harry mumbles against Zayn's lips and it takes a moment for Zayn to answer. He wants the suspense to sink in then he shakes his head and shrugs once more.

"No."

"What the fuck do you mean no?!" Harry exclaims, dropping Zayn's hand with a frown and stepping away from the tree.

"You haven't even taken me on a date, you gotta ask me then." Zayn laughs, stepping onto one of the roots of the tree and leaning back against its trunk. "It's like some rule somewhere or some shit."

"Have you been here the past fucking hour this is a date, I took you to my childhood trauma tree. My CTT!" Harry argues struggling not to laugh but Zayn does, his head tipping back against the tree slightly. "When we met at the club and I knocked you out with chloroform? our first date. That time I watched you sleep while you were tied up? our second date. All those times we had lunch on the terrace after training? dates." And Zayn laughs harder, shaking his head as Harry walks up to him with a grin, resting his hands on Zayn's hips to bring him closer.

"Those weren't proper dates." Zayn laughs against Harry's lips, resting his hands on his shoulders. Harry keeps insisting though, Zayn shaking his head and continuing to laugh, prompting Harry to do the same. "I'm yours." Zayn says with a fond smile, staring at Harry's lips intently before leaning in with a soft chuckle to press their lips together in a kiss. It's meant to be innocent until Zayn's fingers find their way in Harry's curls tugging roughly, earning a quiet groan from Harry. Zayn tilts his head back once Harry lifts him up against the tree, legs locked around the latter's waist. Harry dips his head down to lick the length of Zayn's neck, sucking on the skin just enough to leave red patches.

"We are not fucking against this tree." Zayn barely manages to say as Harry is licking the outer shell of his ear, nipping at his earlobe with a smirk.

"What happened to making good memories?" He chuckles, pressing his hands to the bark of the tree with a smile.

"We are not having sex against your childhood trauma tree, do you wanna be pulling splinters from your cock for the next three days?" Zayn raises an eyebrow as Harry lets him down, smacking his shoulder once it looks like Harry might actually consider the option. Zayn gets down on his knees instead, beginning to undo Harry's belt skillfully. "I will suck your dick against this tree though, it'll be your blowjob tree instead."

"You're a fucking dork." Harry laughs, looking down at his boyfriend on his knees, pulling his cock out slowly.

"I dare you to say that again with your dick in my mouth." Zayn challenges, a smirk on his lips and Harry stares at him fondly, liking the way his tongue is pressed to the back of his teeth whenever they show.

"Try me."

But I don't care, I'm not scared of love


	16. Chapter 16

I wanna sleep next to you and that's all I wanna do right now

"It's written in the report about a hundred times that Aaron committed suicide, there's no evidence of foul play so what are they playing at?" Harry speaks into the phone as he leans against the arch that formed the entrance to the kitchen, staring down at his socked feet. There's a grunt that escapes his lips once Liam explains that Aaron's team had claimed one of the two responsible for killing their most valuable member. "Well tell the boss I can take him out just as easily as I did his competition."

"Harry you know unlike us they're actually funded by the government, do you really want to wage a war on the entirety of the United Kingdom?" Liam chuckles, finishing up on the second report that had been demanded on the case of Aaron's death. "How is it going anyways? Your mum still breathing?"

"Shut it." Harry rolls his eyes, tilting his head up once Zayn's laugh catches his attention and suddenly he's fawning over his boyfriend for the billionth time that day. Zayn's got one of the family albums in his hands, eyes gleaming as his fingers trace over a photo of three year old Harry with cake all over his face. He tilts his head slightly to gaze at Anne with a grin as she recounts some story about Harry's third birthday party where he'd grabbed a chunk of cake instead of blowing out the candle and rubbed it all over his face and hair. Harry chuckles to himself because he hated that story but if it made Zayn laugh like that he'd tell it every single day if he had to. "Things are good here, Mum's still alive unfortunately. It's dark out so I might take Zayn somewhere again today; like a date or whatnot."

There's silence on the phone as Liam pauses everything he's doing, taken aback by Harry's response. "Wow.. that was really personal." Harry furrows his eyebrows, hearing rustling on the other end of the phone before Liam's voice comes on again but closer to the speaker. "You shared something personal with me, what's the catch."

"The catch is I'm gonna have to kill you when I get back, you know too much." Harry says in a serious tone before snorting once Liam bursts into a fit of laughter, hearing him shut his laptop. Harry gets a feeling rising in his chest and he doesn't know what it is but it's warm and comforting and he's glad he could make Liam laugh like that.

"Hey I've gotta go, assignments and all that we'll see you when you get back?" There's more shuffling on Liam's end but it sounds more hectic like he was packing up in a hurry.

"Wait Liam"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry" Harry stays quiet after that for a bit because this is all new to him but he forces himself to keep going. "About the whole trying to kill you thing when Louis died. I was angry that I'd lost him and you said some shit and I guess I needed to take it out on someone."

"You're apologizing now too? I think I like having Zayn around-"

"I'm hanging up now." Harry says quickly before ending the call and shoving his cell phone in the back of his torn jeans to leave the kitchen. He stumbles upon his family mid conversation but his smile quickly fades into a frown once he picks up on what his mother was telling Zayn.

"Harry just looked so much like his father, I couldn't bear to look at either of them but that is no excuse to abandon your own child." Anne shakes her head as Gemma lays her own on her mother's shoulder.

"So you tell him the truth but won't even admit it to your own son?" Harry's tone has changed since he'd spoken to Liam on the phone. This was the Harry Zayn had first met.

"Aren't you tired of all this? Of constantly picking fights with her?" Gemma raises her head and stands up from where she was curled up by her mother's side.

"Aren't you tired of constantly defending her? As we've all apparently become aware she hated my guts." But Gemma shakes her head, standing in front of Harry and glaring into his own angry eyes.

"You are not doing this today again." She seethes, and Harry's fingers curl into a fist, a low growl in his throat. "I'm not afraid of you Harry."

"Wanna test that theory?" He steps closer to his older sister, towering her by a whole two inches but she stands her ground and does something nobody in the room would've ever expected.

"To your room. Now." She says firmly and she deadass just grounded Harry, a twenty six year old man. He feels like a little boy again, taken aback and steps away from Gemma with furrowed brows before turning out and walking off upstairs. When the sound of a door slamming shut echoes across the house, Gemma sighs exasperated then turns around to face a surprised Zayn. "Can you talk to him about all this? He only ever listens to you and I need this to end he's dragged it along too far."

"Pardon me adding my two cents in Anne and Gemma of course" Zayn closes the family album he'd been holding gently before setting it down and stands up. "But this is between Harry and Anne, when he speaks to his mother he's not inviting you into the conversation Gemma. I'm sure your mother can defend herself and so far she's said nothing, she hasn't reached out and explained herself. Harry has every right to be angry at both of you, His mother abandoned him as a child and his sister a willing accomplice, let it happen. He's here for a reason, he could've gone back to Washington without a word but he wants answers and you're going to give them to him." And with that Zayn finds his way upstairs, maneuvering through the small corridor to get into Harry's room only to roll his eyes at the sight of Harry packing his things, a small bag pack on the windowsill sitting against an open window. "Should I ask?"

"We're going out." He says simply before zipping up the travel bag he'd been packing and tossing it out the window onto the roof.

"What are we, fucking 16? There's a front door Harry." Zayn retorts watching his boyfriend climb through the window onto the roof before turning around to reach his hand through the open window, gesturing for Zayn to take it.

"It's funner this way." He just shrugs and there's a glimmer in his eyes that shines with mischief even though just a couple of minutes ago he was ready to punch a hole through the wall. Zayn shakes his head in disbelief as he takes Harry's hand to climb through the window, tossing the travel bag onto the driveway and jumps from the roof as Harry is shutting the window.

Once the two toss their bag into the trunk of Gemma's jeep, they jump into the car quickly unable to contain their laughter and pull out of the driveway heading for the route that leads outside of town.

~

"Harry we've been walking for hours, no wonder they don't show this part in those romantic comedies where the two raging heterosexual teens run away together." Zayn's been complaining for about ten minutes now. Equivalent to the amount of time they've been actually walking and Harry just rolls his eyes at his silly boyfriend, dipping his head to avoid the branch of a tree. The couple stop once they reach a barbed wire fence, Harry throws the bag he's carrying over the fence and helps Zayn scale it with several warnings not to cut himself.

"What kind of illegal shit are we doing, I think I'd rather be at the childhood trauma tree." Zayn looks around once Harry lands beside him but it's pitch black and there's nothing but bushes surrounding them.

"You know, sometimes I wish you'd see the beauty in nature." Harry says as he leads Zayn past a barrier of hanging branches but into a hidden cove and Zayn never saw any of this coming. His lips part as he stares in awe at the way the moon's light reflected off the pond and made the water sparkle. There's not many animals out considering its night time but they can hear a few owls in the trees and loons howling. "I thought about what you said about taking you out on a proper date. Didn't like it; but I thought about it."

Zayn laughs as Harry leads him up to the shoreline of the pond, the two sitting down on the grass and Harry unzips the bag he'd been packing, pulling out a pair of clothes then a small plastic bag filled with several perfect rolls of what seems to be paper. Zayn shakes his head once his eyes land on the bag, prompting Harry to smirk as he tosses it to his boyfriend.

"You did not bring weed on our date." Zayn laughs once he catches the bag, shaking his head disapprovingly as Harry unzips the small backpack to bring out what Zayn counts as three bottles of vodka and one of red wine. "Why can't we be a normal couple?" Zayn giggles helplessly, grinning fondly as Harry crawls over to his lover with an amused smile.

"Because normal is for raging heterosexual teens that run away together." He mumbles, eyes gazing at the younger boy's lips and he starts to say something that would surprise even himself but Zayn closes the space between them with a kiss, thumb on the older man's chin. Harry's next words get lost in the kiss as the two slowly end up laying in the grass, legs locked around a waist, hands tangled in hair.

"Can we smoke these?" Zayn pulls back to mumble, picking up the bag of joints with a grin and Harry chuckles, running his thumb along the younger boy's bottom lip.

"Thought we were gonna just eat them." He mocks and Zayn flips him off, crawling off from underneath him.

~

"You know what I just realized?" Zayn slurs, his mind in a delirious state but still able to form half proper sentences. The couple are both naked, Zayn sat on the bank of the pond with feet in the water because he wasn't allowed to get his bandages wet and Harry stood in the water between his legs. Zayn's lighting up his second joint as Harry takes another burning gulp of his half finished bottle of vodka. The older of the two hums in response, eyes meeting his boyfriend's to gesture him to continue. "If I died right this second, the world wouldn't even stop spinning" Zayn says as he takes a drag of the blunt, the smoke escaping through his nostrils.

"Mine would." Harry chimes in and Zayn hums looking down at him before chuckling softly, leaning down to press a light kiss to Harry's lips.

"That was cheesy."

"It made you smile."

"You're not so tough Mr Styles, people may think you are but you're not tough at all." Zayn says with a giggle before pressing Harry's cheeks together, prompting a fit of laughter from the two. "Just squishy."

~

"Harry."

"Hm."

"If you did want to die," Zayn questions, sitting up from where he'd been laying down on the grass during what could've been possibly the most mind blowing blowjob he'd ever gotten. But then again he was so high the stars looked like little mangoes. "how would you go?"

"Definitely.. definitely in a blaze of glory" Harry answers instantly, before licking the cum off Zayn's thigh, standing up straight in the water. "Maybe like.., a shoot out with the cops, or the feds." He pieces the words his messy brain was trying to string along together to make a cohesive sentence before laughing at the face Zayn pulls.

"I wanna die right here in this place.., right fucking here." Zayn wraps his arms around Harry's neck, his mind in a euphoric state at this point and he feels so light he could fly off like a balloon if he let go.

"I could drown you in the water." Harry suggests with an amused grin and Zayn's laughs, shaking his head. He was one of the few people that ever got Harry's sense of dark humour and he liked that.

"Then I'd come back as a ghost and kill you," He pecks Harry's lips lovingly. "And when you're dead. I'd kill you again" Another peck on the lips.

~

"Ye ask a lot of questions"

"Last onepromise." Zayn swears, resting his hands on his stomach as he stares up at the millions of stars scattered across the sky, some shining brighter than others. They're both laying on the grass now, watching the night sky as their surrounding grow quieter. "What d'ya think's up there"

"Somebody once told me that the great kings of the past are up there, watching over us." Harry answers seriously and it hits Zayn like a brick. It takes a while for him to register what Harry had said before he furrows his brows, laughing uncontrollably.

"Did ya just quote the Lion King?" He questions turning his head to look at his boyfriend, cheek pressed against the grass. Harry laughs at his own joke, nodding as the two try to recover but end up giggling for another ten minutes. It's like that till dawn, Zayn bombarding Harry with marijuana induced questions and the latter answering them either seriously or not even trying. They're tangled up in each other by morning, completely unconscious and fast asleep. Neither is sure when they're going back but they really couldn't care less.

I wanna come home to you, but home is just a room full of our safest sounds


	17. Chapter 17

Stay with me, don't disappear

When Zayn's eyes flutter open, he's blinded by the sun's rays in his face but turns on the grass once he feels finger tips brushing along the ridges in his spine. His head is pounding and it takes all his effort just to flip to his left side to face Harry who looks just as dead as Zayn does.

"Hey," Harry mumbles sluggishly in his gruff voice and continues to trail his fingers along the veins protruding   
Zayn's wrist before stopping at his pale palm tracing out the shape of a heart. Zayn shifts his gaze from his boyfriend's large hands to his eyelashes with a helpless smile. He shakes his head once Harry curls Zayn's fingers into a fist, eyes furrowed in confusion.

"My heart is yours." Harry whispers and the latter sucks in a breath, before leaning in to cup his cheeks, pressing their lips together desperately, arms slowly wrapping around Harry neck.

~

"What do you mean seventeen code blacks?!" Harry yells into the phone as he paces the length of his bedroom, Zayn looking up through his eyelashes from the book Harry had got him reading. "We talked yesterday Liam!"

"Hey," Zayn says in a calm tone, catching Harry's attention. He gives Harry a look that almost immediately causes his tense muscles to relax, speaking into the phone again with a calmer but still urgent tone.

"We're getting the first plane out of here, I want everyone pulled out of the field for the next week." Harry runs a hand through his long curls, starting to pace the room again. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." As soon as Harry hangs up he drops his phone and pulls out the suitcase the couple had brought, beginning to pack his things.

"We're leaving already?" Zayn scoots off the bed, tossing his book into the suitcase before sitting beside it. "What about Anne?"

"What about her?" Harry shoves his suit into the piece of luggage before reaching around to zip it all up. There's a knock on the door and it opens slowly without answer, Anne stepping through the doorway as if she'd been summoned there.

"Haz, can we talk?" She asks using a very old nickname from his childhood that may or may not have hit a sensitive spot for Harry.

"The next flight out to DC is in 45 minutes, I don't have time." Harry shakes his head but Zayn gives him a pressing look almost as if to say 'make time' before sliding off the bed to make his way out the bedroom door. Anne sits at the edge of the bed cautiously, watching as Harry takes a seat beside her with an exasperated sigh. "I really don't think there's more you could possibly do to make this better-"

"I told your father to take you and leave, I did tell him that and it was the biggest mistake I'd ever made." Anne turns to face her son who's looking back at her with hard eyes and a cold stare. "I have no excuses as to why I abandoned you, I was selfish and heart broken. Every time I looked at you I saw your father and at the time I just wanted you gone-"

"I was thirteen."

"And I was stupid, a terrible mother." She shakes her head and Harry rolls his eyes because he can think of worse words to describe her. "I missed out on so much in your life and even with the circumstances, the day I saw you in court was the happiest day of my life Harry."

"Is there an actual point to this conversation-" Harry sighs, reaching a hand up to scratch his scalp before brushing some stray hairs out of his eyes. He watches as his mother scoots closer to him and takes his hands in hers, giving her a confused stare.

"The point is I love you Harry, you are my entire world, why do you think I left your room as is? I've slept in here more than my own bed and there wasn't a day I didn't think about bringing you home-"

"Then why didn't you?" Harry's voice waivers as he sucks in a breath shakily, trying to compose himself. "You ruined my goddamn life. I can barely trust my own family because of you, you left me." He can feel his chest starting to sink as his breathing picks up but squeezes his eyes shut and he can't believe how fragile he's become.

"And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you love. I have no reason as to why I didn't fight for you, maybe I liked feeling sorry for myself, I liked thinking I was a victim but I will never let anything happen to you again, I swear on my life Harry. I love you more than there are stars in the sky." And that's when Harry breaks down but he won't remember it like that of course, grown men don't cry as his father always taught him. His mother would tell him different; that every human being needs a form of release from heartache. Harry's hugging Anne way too tight but she doesn't care, she's finally holding her son in her arms again after 13 and a half years. He buries his face in her neck and cries for what seems to be hours meanwhile Zayn is smiling to himself on the other side of the door, already booking new tickets for their first flight out tomorrow.

To tell the truth, I need you here


	18. Chapter 18

Kiss me on the mouth and set me free

"But Harry that's not fair!" Zayn whines like a child from where he's sitting on the counter by the bathroom sink. Harry's stood between his legs, trying to put his massive head of curls into a bun but can't seem to concentrate with Zayn complaining in his ear.

"I said no, are you done?" He rolls his eyes irritably before starting again on his hair. But Zayn wasn't done. He'd been training strenuously for the past two months on the hopes that Harry would finally let him out into the field on an assignment but with the massive wrack up of code blacks they had in the span of two days two months ago, Harry had become more cautious as to who got to go on assignments and how much training was needed to do so.

"You said at the shooting range if I get a bullseye, I could go with you." Zayn insists further, locking his legs around Harry's waist to bring his body closer.

"All you did was walk up to the board and stick the dart in the bullseye Zayn, no means no so enough." His boyfriend ends the conversation, Zayn chewing on his bottom lip when he spots Harry's gun in his peripherals on the bathroom counter, reaching for it and before he can pull the safety he hears a 'put it down,' Harry focusing on his reflection in the mirror. Zayn does pull down the safety and Harry grunts in annoyance because he's dating a literal five year old before shifting his attention down to his boyfriend who's looking up at him with big whiskey brown eyes.

"Let me go with you." In an instant Zayn's demeanour changes, his voice is firm now, eyes giving Harry a challenging stare as he trails the head of the gun from Harry's exposed chest, slowly up his throat and to the space underneath his chin, finger on the trigger. The man isn't afraid, instead he leans in closer, lips brushing his lover's with an arrogant smirk.

"Go ahead, I dare you." And Zayn pulls the trigger with a blank stare and the gun clicks. He giggles when Harry gasps, clutching his chest and falling to the floor dramatically, his body twitching and eyes closing.

"I can't believe you were actually gonna let me kill your ass." Zayn chuckles, setting the pistol back on the counter, poking his boyfriend's thigh with his foot. Harry opens one eye before grinning, teeth and all then sitting up on the floor cross legged, Zayn sliding off the counter to sit in front of him.

"I knew it was blank, I check all my guns and you couldn't kill a lady bug if your life depended on it." Harry shrugs, poking fun at Zayn's innocent persona to which the latter huffs a breath of air and crosses his arms.

"So how old is she?" Zayn asks, leaning against the cupboard below the bathroom sink, and Harry twists his mouth to the side subconsciously. He didn't like the way Zayn could read him like a book. The only reason Harry wouldn't bend the rules to let Zayn follow him on an assignment would be if a child was involved.

"8." He sighs, resting his hands in his lap before shrugging. "Her name is Grace, she lives in a foster home because though her mother couldn't afford to take care of her, she was forced to carry her to term by an abusive extremely religious husband who I could take out instead but he's already been taken care of."

"That's disgusting man, it's her vagina, her rules." Zayn rolls his eyes, shaking his head before looking back at Harry. "So why have her daughter killed?"

"It says in the file that she thinks her daughter is being molested by her foster father and she wants to free her or some shit."

"Why not just call child services?" Zayn questions with narrowed eyes because this is just about the dumbest reasoning to commit murder he's ever heard of.

"I don't get paid to ask questions Zayn, I just do what has to be done." Harry shrugs to which Zayn bites his tongue so he doesn't say anything he can't take back, just nodding in understanding. "Still want to come?"

"Definitely."

~

When Zayn and Harry pull up to a smaller than average flat roofed home with a tiny driveway, the former turns to his boyfriend with furrowed brows.

"They're six of them living in that dump?" And Harry shakes his head, loading his gun before opening the car door.

"You don't get paid to ask questions Zayn." He reiterates, bringing out the suitcase Zayn remembers holds paralytics and other chemicals used to inject into the human body. Harry climbs out of the car, Zayn following suit who keeps his mouth shut as they walk across the road to the back gates of the house.

"Foster mom is always asleep upstairs, the rest of the family is out at the movies I believe and Grace's room should be on the first floor." Harry explains once they reach the back door into the house. "All I need you to do is distract Grace, she's always in her room, tell her you're a family friend, play with her, she's 8 it's not that hard do you understand Zayn." He stresses, making sure his partner nods in agreement before the two enter the house quietly, with arms extended in front of their torso, gripping onto their guns. They split up, Harry moving up the stairs diligently then making his way down the hallway to the door that's slightly ajar, light pouring out through the cracks. When Harry reaches out to push the door open slowly, his brows furrow at the sight of an empty bedroom, lowering his gun to his thigh.

"Harry?!" Zayn calls from downstairs and it takes Harry not even a second to make his way back down to the first floor. He follows Zayn's voice into a small bedroom with chipped yellow walls and crayon scribbled all over them along with a crib next to a bunk bed. Harry finds Zayn standing over a crib with parted lips and a confused stare, suitcase still in his hands. "Is it just me or does Grace look a little too young to be eight years old."

When Harry looks into the crib he finds a toddler who's eyes are just now fluttering open from sleep and curses under his breath.

~

"You said they went to the cinema and that she's eight all I see is a fucking fetus!" Harry whisper shouted into the phone and groans loudly once Grace begins to cry louder, his grip on the cellphone tightening. "Oh so this is my fucking faul- Zayn will you shut her up?!"

"We woke her, what did you fucking expect?" His boyfriend hisses, walking around with the screaming baby in his arms, rocking her body gently. Her face is a tomato red from crying so hard and if she didn't stop screaming the neighbours were going to call the police.

"Give her to me." Harry hangs up, not bothering to continue the call and takes Grace into his arms, giving her a small grin. "Hey there gorgeous, how are you?" And Grace slowly stops screaming till she's just frowning at the tall human with tears in her eyes. "That's good baby girl, no more crying from you, let's get you back to bed shall we? Can you do that for me?" Zayn smiles with his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he watches Harry fondly and somehow his boyfriend is able to make Grace giggle with a boop to her nose and a silly face. In less than five minutes he's got her tiny arms wrapped around his neck, and face hidden in his shoulder, eyes nearly shut as Harry takes a sit on the lower bunk looking up to Zayn. "Pass me the suitcase."

And Zayn's smile fades into a frown, staring at the case that's propped up against the crib, shaking his head slightly. "What? Why?"

"Because we don't get paid to ask questions Zayn now pass me the damn suitcase." He glares at his boyfriend with Grace in his arms, rubbing slow circles in her back and Zayn gets this heavy feeling in his chest, a shaky breath escaping past his lips.

"Harry she's just a child-"

"Give me the suitcase and wait outside." Harry reiterates and was he really about to murder a two year old all for money he already had? Zayn forces himself to walk up to the case they'd brought with them and pick it up, setting it in front of Harry. He opens it for him, sucking in a breath at the display of multiple jars with liquids in them along with several needles. Zayn doesn't stay in the room a second longer, just walks out and waits outside like he was told, leaning back against the wall with eyes squeezed shut. After about twenty seconds, he dares to open his eyes when he hears Grace whimper, peeking into the room slowly and biting down on his bottom lip as he watches Harry inject a needle into the child's arm, soothing her gently.

Zayn walks away from the room and everything seems to be moving too slow. His feet feel heavy and his throat seems to be closing up as he makes his way into a bathroom, gripping onto the counter and vomiting into the sink, his stomach curling in on itself. He ends up on the floor, crying violently with a hand over his mouth to keep himself quiet. At the moment nothing felt real, this could possibly be his worst nightmare and in a split second Zayn decides, this ends today.

~

"You okay?" Harry asks once he comes out of the shower that evening, throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Zayn looks up from his page of Captive in the Dark and simply nods. It's odd, Harry had never seen someone so calm after their first assignment but he doesn't question it, just walks over to his cabinet and puts on a new rosary.

"Have you ever thought about just throwing in the towel? Shutting this place down for good?" Zayn asks and Harry furrows his brows, turning to be met by a serious gaze from his boyfriend.

"Well this isn't just a job for me, it's who I am, I have nothing if this place gets shut down."

"You have me Harry. And your family-"

"This is my fucking family, all these men they are my family." Harry argues but Zayn pushes further.

"That's why you kill them when they don't follow what you want?"

That's when Harry narrows his eyes from where he's standing. "What are you getting at Zayn?"

"Harry one day you're eventually going to get caught, this can't last forever, you know it won't. Look at how many of your men got caught two months ago? Seventeen Harry that's like 20% of you." Zayn shuts his book and climbs off the bed, standing in front of the older man with sincere eyes. "I don't want to lose you and you are capable of so much more than this Harry. You've got so much good in you and Andrew wouldn't want this kind of life for yo-" Zayn finds himself pinned against their bedroom wall with a large hand around his throat, squeezing too tightly.

"Don't you ever fucking say that to me, do you understand?." Harry hisses with angry eyes and Zayn feels his own surge of anger reach a breaking point.

"Get off me." He grunts, fingertips digging into his lover's arm.

"Answer me!" And the volume of Harry's deep voice scares the living hell out of Zayn but he tucks his chin in, head-butting Harry with the crown of his head and watches as the man stumbles back in pain, hand on his bleeding forehead. "fuck!"

"I told you to get off me." Zayn growls and his own anger prompts him to charge at Harry with a fist who catches it all too soon and punches Zayn in the gut before flipping the younger boy around to face away from him, tugging at his arm socket. "Stop fuck, Harry stop!" And his boyfriend releases him quickly, afraid he'd hurt Zayn who just turns around with a smile and smashes the glass vase they kept on the coffee table into Harry's temple.

Harry stumbles back against the opposite side of the bedroom wall, blood dripping from his forehead and cuts all across his face. The two have forgotten what they were even fighting about as Zayn steps back against the other wall, clutching his stomach and breathing heavily. There's a deafening silence in the room for a good ten minutes as the couple stare each other down, unable to move from the floor they were now sitting on.

"I love you." Harry says with loose strands of bloody hair falling from his bun into his face and Zayn looks up at him through his eyelashes tired but shocked. He doesn't say a word so Harry just keeps talking. "I love you so much jesus fuck Zayn and if this is about getting caught I would never let them take you away from me, over my dead fucking body." Zayn just squeezes his eyes shut because this wasn't happening, this wasn't supposed to happen not in a million fucking years would Harry utter any of those words. He opens his eyes when he hears his name again and Harry's looking at him with sincere eyes and shaking fingers. His anxiety was probably reaching unimaginable levels by now. "You're right there is good in me but only because you make me want to be a good person Zayn and fuck man this isn't the life I want for us either but this thing I do I can't just stop, this is my home these men are my home and I don't know where I'm going with this but you're the love of my life Zayn, I've loved you since day 1 and I will love you even in my grave, please say something."

Zayn chuckles, giving Harry an amused grin before nodding with tears in his eyes - he doesn't know if it's from the physical pain or emotional joy but wants to live in this moment forever - "I love you too." And Harry grins as well, breathing out a laugh and he wishes he could kiss Zayn for ages but he can't move so he tilts his head back against the wall and closes his eyes to live in the euphoria for a little longer.

"Harry?" A voice comes from the other side of the door and the couple groan, Harry opening his eyes from where he's sitting.

"What?!" He calls from across the room and the voice speaks again in an anxious tone.

"We have a problem."

~

"Harry what's going on, you can't leave me in the dark forever." Zayn questions, trying to keep up with Harry's quick pace along with the group of men leading them. His stomach still hurt like a bitch as they walk quickly down the same hall Zayn had been kept when he'd first gotten here.

"The FBI caught our mole and somehow he showed up at our doorstep, I don't know if they dropped him off there or if he found his own way but they know something about us and if we don't leave this place we're fucked." He explains and the group stops in front a cell, one of the men unlocking it before they step aside for Harry to make his way inside. Zayn follows suit and stops in his tracks when he sees a head of dirty blonde hair accompanied by a battered bloody face and torn clothes to match.

"Ethan?"

Please don't bite


	19. Chapter 19

Oh should my people fall

"Good?" The Pakistani man adjusted the collar of his sable dress shirt, giving a pointed look at the reflection of his best friend in the mirror. "Earth to Ethan hello- look should I not do this because if you want me to stay home I mean, I'll do it." He turns to face his friend with a soft sigh, taking his bottom lip between his teeth anxiously, his gaze locking with the darker pair of brown eyes.

"Zayn you look fine and you've got this." Ethan gives the taller boy a reassuring smile before resting his hands on Zayn's chest to lean up and press a quick kiss to his cheek. "You're going to kick ass and once you get home we'll celebrate yeah?" There's a comfortable yet eerie silence as the two boys stare into each other's eyes, faint smiles and all to put the other at ease before Zayn pulls his best friend into a tight hug, pressing his face to Ethan's shoulder with eyes squeezed shut. That was the last time he ever saw Ethan again.

~

"How exactly do you know Ethan?" Harry questions with suspicious eyes from where he's watching Zayn trying to desperately wake the older man up, patting his cold cheeks gently with fear in his eyes.

"We've known each other since second grade, he was in fourth grade, we share a fucking apartment together." Zayn answers standing up to face his boyfriend, his face contorted in pain. "He's my best friend Harry, what did they do to him"

"Him and I have been friends since 9th grade." Harry says and he'd never seen Ethan near the vicinities of any seventh graders yet alone anyone that looked remotely like Zayn. He would've remembered. Who would forget someone like Zayn.

"We stopped talking once he got to highschool.." Zayn furrows his eyebrows and continues slowly as realization dawns on him. "He'd moved halfway across the city and found some new friends his age at his school.."

"But if you live together you must've known he worked for me or at least even the FBI."

"Are you being fucking serious of course I didn't know, he worked a construction job that couldn't pay for shit now tell me what going on!" Zayn seethes and this day couldn't possibly be getting any worse, someone was out for his blood. Almost everyday Ethan made his way out the door to their apartment in jeans and his yellow traffic jacket that Zayn could never get enough of making fun of. Sometimes he'd have to stay overnight, even three days at a house in order to finish building in time for their deadline.

"He's been tortured." Leo emerges from the entrance of the cell with a first aid kit that he quickly realizes won't be doing shit. He walks up to the unconscious boy tied to the steel chair and squats on his knee, examining the wounds on his face. "And from what I'm seeing, beaten senseless till he talked." Zayn runs a hand through his hair in anger and frustration, and damn near bashes his skull into the brick wall. When Leo finally stands up, he leaves his kit on the ground with a shake of his head. "Harry he's been unconscious for some time now, he may have even slipped into a coma there's no way he got here on his own."

And Harry sucks in a breath because now they really were screwed. He gives Leo a subtle nod, the older man understanding what needed to be done but Zayn catches on to the secret conversation all too quickly as a few of the men outside start to file into the cell.

"Harry what's going on.. Harry what are you doing." He glances at Harry quickly then to Leo and back to Ethan's lifeless body and he wants to lung for his best friend but the Pakistani boy is too late, Harry wrapping his arms tightly around his lean body to drag him outside as Zayn screams for Ethan to wake up. His loud cries echo down the hallway, fingers desperately scratching at the biceps wound tightly around his waist and heels digging into the slippery floor to keep from moving further away from the cell. Everything is moving slow again. Like when that little girl left the world and Zayn swears he's going to vomit again. He flinches when gunshots fill his ears, turning slowly to bury his face in Harry's grey t-shirt, fisting the hem of it as tears soak the material. It feels like ages before Zayn goes through his cycle of grief and turns to anger.

"I told you, we need to end this" Zayn speaks in a gruff voice, and steps back from Harry once his boyfriend tries to engulf him in a hug again. When Harry's frown somehow seems to get deeper, Zayn looks up at him with hurt in his eyes. It's real and it's genuine and it's angry.

"Zayn.. this isn't our fault." Harry manages carefully but the younger boy shakes his head quickly.

"It's your fault." Zayn spits and Harry takes Zayn hands in his with a shake of his head because they were just saying their I love yous two hours ago.

"Zayn that's not true, he had a choice you know that Zayn look at me." Harry pleads once Zayn bows his head, refusing to look Harry in the eye instead gazing at the tile floors. "Baby please I know it hurts I miss Louis every fucking day man but I'm getting through it because of you Zayn, we can get through this and any other bullshit that comes our way I swear-"

"No. No more. This ends today." Zayn slips his hands from the larger ones that were keeping his fingers warm and turns without giving Harry a second glance before he walks away down the hall.

"Where are you going Zayn?!" Harry calls as he throws his hands up in disbelief.

"You infiltrated the fucking FBI, but didn't stop to think maybe they could do the same?" Zayn calls back as he shakes his head, continuing down the hall to make his way to the second level of the house. He was going to catch that mole.

~

"It's 1 in the damn morning." Someone groans from amongst the sea of men and Zayn rolls his eyes resting his hands against the computer desk, glaring at the group.

"Don't tell me you haven't done worse at 1 in the morning." He sneers as the crowd agrees because it was a good point. Zayn takes a breath before speaking from where he's stood on the desk chair with crossed arms, Harry watching quietly from behind him against a wall. "Today we're going to pay our friends at the FBI a little visit."

And the chatter begins.

"What the fuck is going on Harry since when did you start letting the house slut give orders?!" A man calls out from the very edge of the crowd and Zayn clenches his jaw, bringing his gun out from the holster. He really hated that word. When Zayn turns to the voice he's got this look on his face that Harry doesn't like, there's no light in his brown eyes, no remorse either. "Eric what is this?" Zayn waves the gun around, glaring into blue eyes that are looking back up into his own.

"A gun?"

"And who is it pointed at?"

"Me?" He doesn't seem sure where this is going until he feels his heart physically stop, a bullet penetrating one of the most vital organs in his body before he drops to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

"Does anybody else have a problem with the house slut giving orders?" There's a deafening silence in the room and Harry straightens up against the wall, watching his boyfriend shove his gun back into its holster. He feels like he's watching Zayn's innocence physically fade into nothing because when he looks at Zayn now all he sees is himself. "You have a mole!" Zayn announces inducing more chatter amongst the group, men giving suspicious looks to one another and Zayn chuckles to himself. "It's kind of funny because you people managed to manipulate the FBI, as well as kill thousands of innocent people for twelve years and yet when seventeen of your own men get caught on their assignments and one of them dead, when your own inside man is tortured for information you couldn't stop to think 'how on earth could this all be happening'? Really it's fucking hilarious." Zayn rants with a shake of his head before jumping off the chair to the ground, tucking it back in. "Since I'm apperently the smartest person in this room I figured you all have a file of who works here, they must have one too so!" He claps his hands and his demeanour is calm but his words are so full of anger and hate. Not many people know what happened but something sure as hell did happen. "I sent four of you already to their building on the other side of the city. The rest of you are to stay in this room, nobody leaves or I swear to God you'll end up worse than Eric over here is that understood?" The crowd murmurs in agreement someone whispering that he's worse than Harry before Zayn sends them all off to their computer stations.

~

The entire room is watching the large monitors as four different screens show the men out in the field, posed as the building night crew and moving throughout each floor eliminating anyone who could be deemed a witness. It's Nick who gets to the third floor first, exiting the stairwell and making his way down the hall as casually as he can holding a tub of what should be paint but is really the parts to a semi automatic. When he finally reaches the door labelled Technical Analyst, he picks the lock and makes his way inside quickly, sitting at the desk to turn on the various computers but not before slipping in his USB so as to not set any hidden alarms.

Zayn watches anxiously as the computer screen flashes on and Nick starts trying to search for the files that could contain any names of current and previous employees. It's been 10 minutes when a voice comes from the screen, Nick sighing in defeat.

"Zayn the files are sealed."

"Then unseal them." Zayn fires back into the ear piece that's connecting him to Nick before leaning back into Harry's body, feeling a large pair of hands run along his biceps soothingly.

There's more typing for what feels like ages and in another 15 minutes Nick unseals the files, - to which there's loud cheering from the group of men in the room of course - beginning to download them onto his USB. Zayn's pacing the length of his desk now, chewing on his nail because they're so close and then he stops.

"Did you see that?" Zayn stares at the screen, walking over to the person operating the live footage at his computer.

"See what Zayn?" Harry glances from the screen to Zayn who's hunched over the computer pointing at the screen.

"That was Liam, I saw Liam's picture. Play that back." Zayn says frantically and the older man is typing at his keyboard but nothing is happening.

"Someone's hacking our footage."

"I saw him too!" A voice exclaims from across the room and then two more, Zayn turning to face Harry in horror. Everyone turns to their designated screen when they hear a loud bang, the sound of a door being kicked in then

"Don't move!"

Almost simultaneously, all the monitors go black as night, not a single sound being uttered until Harry loads his gun and takes Zayn's hand in his.

"We need to go. Right now."

Then surely I'll do the same


	20. Chapter 20

one mistake is all it really takes, so take my breath away

"Get to the airport, make sure the plane is ready. That plane takes off in 45 minutes regardless of who's not on it, do you understand me?" Harry speaks urgently to one of his men, someone Zayn hadn't gotten around to learning his name. But when Harry finally turns to him, he's forgotten all about the dilemma. 

"We can't just leave!" Zayn exclaims, glaring up into the desperate green eyes towering above him before groaning once his boyfriend gives him that look. Please.

"Zayn, we cannot stay here, you started this—"

"You killed my best friend!" The younger man grits through his teeth in anger, using all his force to shove Harry's body back and away from him. With fire in his words, he continues. "For what?! Money?!" And Harry goes to open his big fat mouth again but Zayn isn't having any of it. "You are swimming in cash Harry fuck why do you keep doing this?! Or do you just like the thrill of taking innocent lives—"

"What the hell is going on?" A voice echoes from the end of the hall and before the couple can register who had spoken, Liam is standing a mere few feet away from Harry, confusion in his eyes. The latter doesn't hesitate when he pulls out his gun, brings down the safety and shoots. 

Silence.

 

Harry shifts his gaze for the 7th or 8th time during the car ride to his boyfriend in the passenger's seat who's holding on to the roof handle as they speed across the empty passage towards the airport. 

"He did this to us and you know that—" Harry begins calmly, his eyes refocusing on the road.

"Don't." Zayn speaks briefly. It's curt and hostile. His eyes are on the road but all he really sees is Liam's furrowed brows as a hand slowly finds its way to his stomach. Blood stains his long fingers as the man falls to his knees, eyes never leaving Harry's unforgiving gaze.

"I was trying to protect us." Harry starts again but this time there's no response, merely just a tense silence. "Zayn pl—" The rest of his words are forced back down his throat as the car rotates an entire 180 degrees in the air, Harry catching a glance of a black range rover at the side of the road before his head smashes against the wheel and vision fades to black. 

 

"Zayn.." Harry croaks out once he's forced his eyes open, taking in the bloody body sitting beside him, jet black hair scruff now stained with red and head laying on the dashboard. "Zayn." He calls once again desperately, but before he can reach out for the only man he's ever truly loved, Harry is being dragged out the shattered car window by his sleeves, ears ringing so loudly he can't even hear himself scream. This is karma. He thinks back to when he was in this officer's shoes. Dragging Zayn out of that cell, the younger man crying out for Ethan to wake up. "Zayn!" 

"Dispatch we need an ambulance down here right now." Harry doesn't know where the voice is coming from but it's muffled and he's struggling to free himself from the cuffs now on his wrists but there's a grip on him that won't even let him budge. His chest hurts too much but this time he doesn't go numb, Harry feels every sting of grief as he's forced into the back seat of the police car, letting his eyes fall shut in horror.

 

"Niall it's been two weeks, he hasn't said a word and I don't think he plans on doing so for a very long time." Chris sighs in frustration, leaning back against the one way glass and watching the blonde hum to himself, deep in thought. "We need to bring him in."

There's a silence between the two before the detective comes to a decision, turning swiftly to face the FBI agent and nods in agreement. "Make him talk."

 

Harry tilts his head up tiredly once the door opens for the first time that day and his breath gets caught in his throat. Every thing is moving slowly like the day of the crash as the man with jet black hair and whiskey brown eyes, strides over to the chair across from him, taking a seat. "Zayn.." Harry breathes out shakily, cuffed hands reaching up from between his lap to rest on the table and eyes examining Zayn's stoic expression in confusion.

"Harry Styles." Zayn begins and the tone hits Harry in the chest like bricks. That's when he notices another man in the room. A blonde, stacking boxes that Harry's come to know is usually filled with evidence.

"No." Harry shakes his head as his heart begins to sink in his chest. He shifts his gaze back to Zayn who's still got that stoic expression on his face, and Harry can't find a single shred of emotion in the eyes he'd fallen in love with. 

"My name is Special Agent Zayn Malik of the FBI."

go on, put the knife in


	21. flashback

If I told you this was only going to hurt

"Wait, Chris, I need you to get this file to Jenny." Zayn stands up from his chair quickly, heading for the doorway of his office as his co-worker struts by. Chris stops in his tracks at the sound of Zayn's voice, leaning against the same doorway with raised eyebrows. He has a whole three inches on Zayn looking down into those whiskey brown persuasive eyes.

"You do know her office is right next to yours." He crosses his arms with a chuckle, his large biceps subconsciously flexing through his white button up shirt.

"Christopher you're literally about to walk past it," Zayn begs, using his friend's full name as he's nudging the folder against his arm impatiently. "I'll come over tonight."

"Why, things didn't go well with Oliver last night? Is he -2 inches or something?" Chris remarks prompting Zayn to laugh and smack his arm with the beige folder, shaking his head. "You know people are starting to call you the office whore."

"I've heard, it's so sad they aren't getting laid, hopefully things turn around." The corner of Zayn's lips tug up in a stupid smirk, tongue pressing to the back of his teeth the way Chris loves and it's no mystery how the Pakistani boy manages to bring every man - despite their raging heterosexuality - to their knees.

"Alright Alladin, we have a briefing with the BAU in 5, and your dad said he wants you in on this so you can give that file to Jenny herself."

Zayn's mouth twists to the side in confusion because he hadn't had a field case in months yet alone one involving direct orders from his father. He pushes his body off the door frame to his office and follows Chris to their usual meeting room, noticing the entire team is taking their seats, Sasha standing in front of the large screen they used for briefing. When Zayn takes his seat, the image of a man just a bit older than him comes on the screen. He's got long chocolate brown curls cascading just past his shoulders and plump lips to go with his shiny white teeth. In the first picture he's standing at a balcony with a toothy grin, hair blowing with the wind. Then Sasha hits her clicker and the next picture is of the same man, same chocolate curls but this time he's got a dark suit on with a floral dress shirt underneath, revealing his chest. He's whispering into another man's ear, a smirk on his lips that could make Zayn break himself in half if the man asked him to. In the last picture he's with the same man but they seem to be mid conversation. Zayn shifts in his seat uncomfortably because he's sure he's got a raging hard on just from pictures of this smouldering prince with curly locks.

"Harry Styles." Sasha speaks up after changing the current picture to another of the same man sitting on a couch. He looks smaller compared to the lad sitting beside him, arm around Harry's shoulders but on the couch just not to touch him. Harry Styles. Zayn whispers the name to himself, biting down on the end of his pen, before forcing himself to focus on the presentation. "26 years old, born and raised in Chesire, England before he and his father - Des Styles - moved to Washington DC." Sasha continues now showing a picture of Harry's father who didn't look much like him. "Recently an alarming number of people from all over the country have been dropping off the face of the earth and we believe, no we know that this is the man responsible."

"How many are we talking?" Zayn asks tapping his cheek with the end of his pen.

"The highest count so far has been approximately 47 people a day." Well that's a turn off. The entire room goes silent, Zayn writing the information down in his notebook with a shake of his head. Why are the pretty ones always serial killers.

"Okay if you know this is your guy why haven't we arrested him yet exactly?" Chris asks from beside Zayn who looks up at Sasha for her response.

"He's up to his eyes in money, unless the state has concrete physical proof that he's involved with all these missing persons then we are not allowed to bring him in. We also believe he murdered both his fathers, Des Styles and Andrew Westford but with no concrete evidence and a really expensive lawyer, it was ruled as a double suicide."

"So basically you're gonna need to find bodies." Zayn sighs closing his notebook and runs a hand through his hair. "Where do I come into all of this?"

"We have reason to believe Styles has taken over his father's business. These men are a group of elite assassins with years of practice and training as well as knowledge of how to use anything as a weapon. They are paid by clients to seek out targets and kill. Children, young adults, seniors etcetera. Though almost every Friday, Harry picks up a prostitute and/or a male stripper from the Dancetown Boutique and takes them to what I'm assuming is where all these men are hiding out."

"So you need him to be a manwhore? That'll come naturally won't it Zayn?" An older woman speaks up, Zayn sneering at her with a fake smile before returning his gaze back to Sasha.

"We need you in the field as a prostitute. Your objective is to infiltrate their headquarters and gather as much intel as you can. We will be changing your history just slightly to maintain the truth as they have very high technology from God knows where. Gather as much information as you can about where they get their weapons, how they have never been caught but most importantly the location of all the bodies they've racked up."

"How long is this going to take exactly?" Zayn questions, rolling his eyes because the last thing he wants to do is kiss someone else's ass for an entire year or two.

"Training is six months, you will remain at their headquarters once you get there until further notice. Also I've been notified to tell you that you cannot speak of this mission to anyone outside this room." Sasha closes her file, Zayn nodding in understanding as he watches her turn off the seminar screen. "Dismissed."

"Remind me to give Yaser a bag full of my shit for Father's Day." Zayn rolls his eyes grumbling and Chris laughs, resting a hand dangerously low on the small of Zayn's back.

"Want to celebrate your last day of freedom? Drinks on me." He smiles fondly, Zayn nodding with a cheeky smile of his own. He stands up along with Chris but instead of following Chris to the door he turns around to be met with the same woman who had commented on his.. sex life earlier.

"Helen I am so sorry that you're so bitter about me and Matthew having sex in the printer room but it was just a one time thing." Zayn shakes his head looking at her with what you could call sincerity. Helen narrows her eyes at Zayn who's pulling his gun out of his holster to disassemble it, placing the parts on the table.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh he hasn't told you yet? I mean I thought you would know, him moaning my name while you two are fucking and all which is 100% not my fault." Zayn shrugs, piecing together his hand gun as Chris watches Helen try not to lose it, tears threatening to fall past her eyes. "I really thought he was the one for you love but I mean, 7th times the charm." He gives her a smile, loading his gun and turning around to walk out of the meeting room without a trace of sympathy in his eyes. He fiddles with his hand gun once again, assembling and disassembling as Chris strolls beside him heading for the lobby.

"You slept with her fiancé? That's kinda fucked up Zayn."

"Nah he's wanted to but home wrecking really isn't my thing. Just wanted to see that look on her face." Zayn shrugs, with a smirk, shoving his handgun back in its holster.

If I warned you, that the fire's gonna burn.


	22. Chapter 22

"Uncuff him." Zayn speaks as he watches Harry's chest rise and fall too quickly. It was obvious he was having a panic attack, but Harry was trying hard to hide his vulnerability.

"What if he's faking?"

"What if I shove my foot up your ass, UNCUFF. HIM." Zayn orders again, this time raising his voice and Detective Horan complies with a grunt, standing by Harry's side to unlock the cuffs that are restraining his wrists. All the while, the older man has his eyes locked on Zayn. Trying desperately to breathe through his nose, to use all the techniques he'd learned in therapy. But that was so long ago and of course Harry had prepared for betrayal from one of his men. Not from the man he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with. "You need to control your breathing Harry, look at your hands." Zayn speaks once again but it's not the same voice Harry'd gotten accustomed to hearing, not the same tone, this was not the man he loved. Regardless, he shifts his gaze to his shaking hands that had seized up, fingers stuck out like claws. Something washes over Zayn when the man looks back up at him with tears rolling down his cheeks. Pity? Guilt? 

"Who knew? The big bad Harry Styles has anxiety." Niall chuckles, crossing his arms simultaneously and Zayn stands up from his seat with clenched jaws. 

"Get out."

"Excuse me? This is my case." The detective walks up to him with furrowed brows and challenging eyes, prompting Zayn to scoff amusingly.

"This is a federal case Horan. My field case. We just happened to have caught him in your city so. I can take it from here." Zayn crosses his own arms and narrows his eyes when he sees Niall's dominance falter. 

"I knew there was a reason the bureau had been so peaceful the past couple of months." Niall sneers but it only makes Zayn laugh.

"How cute, they let you in the bureau, what'd you do? Clean the floors and restock the toilet paper in our bathrooms?" Zayn coos with a tilt of his head before taking yet another step towards the detective. "You're done here. Now go back to your dingy little office. Bottom feeder." He glares until Niall backs down with a scoff, giving Harry one last look of disgust before making his way out of the interrogation room.

~

It takes a while for Harry to calm down. Zayn had gotten him to control his breathing way too easily but it took even longer for Harry to wrap his head around the situation. They'd sat in silence for nearly an hour before Harry spoke up. It was quiet, and he kept his gaze on the table, but the words rang in Zayn's ears loud and clear.

"Do you know what treachery is?" He asks, hands folded but still shaking slightly.

"Betrayal of trust." Zayn answers too calmly, like what he'd done to Harry hadn't even affected him in the least. That's what made Harry's chest hurt the most. The past few months were never real. He'd fallen in love with a fictional character. "The end justifies the immoral means. Do you know what that means?"

"You are a horrible human being." Harry shakes his head as he flickers is gaze back up to Zayn, that stoic expression still on his face.

"Trust me compare to you, I'm a god damn fucking Saint." Zayn leans in, arms resting on the table and locks his gaze with the forest green eyes across from him. "Here's what's going to happen. You tell me where you buried the bodies of all the people you've killed, the people your father had killed, we toss you in Guantanamo Bay and I get to go home."

"Who are you?" Harry murmurs searching his boyfriend's whiskey brown eyes and Zayn shakes his head with a frustrated grunt.

"Stop changing the subject Harry." 

 

"I loved you-"

"You don't get to play the victim here!" Zayn slams his fists on the table and stands up from his seat, Harry never flinching. "The lives you took, the families you shattered, they are the victims here, H." Zayn catches himself using the nickname he'd gotten accustomed to when the two had been 'together' and sighs in frustration, eyes falling shut before he sits down again, staring at the older man who was still watching him intently. "These families need closure."

"You don't care about them." Harry speaks up to which Zayn furrows his brows defensively, jaws clenched again. "It's all about getting the job done. Trying to prove yourself to someone. I should know, i've spent my entire life trying to prove myself to my dead father. You've got no soul Zayn. You don't care about any of those families."

"You don't know a thing about me." Zayn hisses, leaning forward once again. "The Zayn Malik you knew? Submissive, innocent, pure Zayn? He isn't real. He loved you. I wouldn't touch you with a 9 foot pole." And that's when Harry feels whatever is left of his heart quite literally shatter. His fingers are dug into his palm to keep him from lashing out. It'd be no use either way, his ankles still shackled to the chair. 

Just when he'd gotten to the idea of true love, this comes and bites him in the ass. That's when Zayn sees something wash over the older man, almost like a transformation and they were thrown back in time to when Zayn had just met Harry Styles. Ruthless, unforgiving and vulgar.

"I'll tell you where the bodies are." He says, leaning back in his seat with hands folded on his lap. "Can't promise you'll find all of them though. Sometimes I don't bother with burial, takes too much work. Just toss 'em in the nearest bin." Harry shrugs and he likes the way Zayn is fuming, it prompts his lips to curl into an amused smirk before he's leaning against the table again. "But you've gotta do something for me."

"I don't make deals with serial killers." 

"But you sleep with them?" Harry rests his fist against his cheek. That cheeky smile still on his stupid face and Zayn really just wants to go home so he bites.

"What do you want."

"I get one hour, to ask you any question I want. I must know how you managed to fool my entire team, me included. It's really inspiring." Harry smiles to which Zayn rolls his eyes at the ridiculous request but gives in anyway.

"Done."


	23. Chapter 23

"I've set the timer, you've got 60 minutes."

Harry taps his fingers to the steel table, bottom lip between his teeth as he examines Zayn once over. "I should've known something was off about you the moment I brought you to my study. No sane human being would ever try to engage in sex or even want to be touched for that matter after being raped."

"58 minutes."

"Alright my question is how? how were you so unaffected after what Caleb did to you?" Harry stops tapping his fingers against the desk when Zayn narrows his eyes at him and doesn't flinch when he answers.

"It's happened to me before."

"How many times?"

"Stopped counting after 15." Zayn speaks and Harry tries not to let his demeanour falter, to let the man across from him see that his heart had just shattered for the third time that day. It bothers Harry how casual and cold Zayn's tone was. He doesn't like the new Zayn Malik. Or rather he doesn't like the real Zayn Malik.

"I'm sorry Zayn-"

"55 minutes." Zayn folds his hands on the table tilting his head and gives Harry a look expectantly. He was waiting for the next question.

"Did you ever seek counciling? Did your father try to help? Or did you lie about your family also?" Harry had a million questions in his head and so far none of them had even touched on how in the hell Zayn had even gotten through security and into the house in the first place. But then again their security was just Leo. Maybe they shouldn't be trusting a man named after a ninja turtle.

"My father assigned me a therapist and soon enough I didn't need her. As for my family, everything I told you was true: my mother was a surrogate, my father and I only have each other." Zayn explains and Harry breathes a subtle sigh of relief. The Zayn he knew was not completely a work of fiction.

"What else didn't you lie about?" Harry asks in a soft tone and you can tell he's desperately trying to grasp at any sort of evidence that what the two had was real.

"Ethan." And Harry swallows thickly, eyes shifting so he doesn't meet Zayn's eyes. "Well almost everything about him. We've been best friends for as long as I can remember but we did part along the way and that's how he met you. I didn't know he was really working with you when he showed up at the bureau years later looking for a job." Zayn's fingers are fidgeting and jaws clenched so tightly, Harry can see his bones peeking through. "That's what I lied about. I knew he worked with the FBI, I'm the one who asked my father to give him the job-"

"Your father.." Harry narrows his eyes as he begins to piece it all together. The kind of power Zayn had in this place, his obsession with proving himself. "You're the director's son." Harry was confused now. He shakes his head, trying to go back to the moment where he and Liam had gone through Zayn's files extensively, dug into all his family history. "But our system never-"

"You and your guys, you're smart, resourceful." The corner of Zayn's lips tug up in a smirk as he coos at the look of confusion Harry's got on his face. "But I'll always be smarter. More resourceful-"

"More manipulative." Harry jabs to which Zayn just shrugs because it's the truth.

"Only way to get what you need."

"Or the only way to show daddy that you're more than just his disgraceful, homosexual son" Harry rests his arms on the table with a challenging look in his eyes and tilts his head when he sees Zayn's eye twitch. A smile appears on the older man's face as he leans back into his chair casually. "Got you."

"46 minutes."

"Let me see, daddy doesn't approve of your sexuality so you sleep around with his employees, maybe even his co-workers, his friends just to prove that you're not the only person on this planet that loves taking or giving it up the ass."

"You do not know me." Zayn hisses but Harry continues.

"You'll take whatever job he gives you, even if it means having your dignity erased, manipulating everyone around you, destroying your body and turning into an emotionless robot, tell me if I'm even a little bit close." Harry shakes his head, staring at Zayn who's shaking noticeably, trying not to falter. For a moment he sees vulnerability in the whiskey brown eyes across from him and maybe this is what Harry wanted. To make Zayn hurt like he hurt. To humiliate him in front of whoever was watching behind that glass. And to prove a point. "You don't care about those families. I never cared about those families. We're both trying to prove ourselves to the men that raised us. In a way, you're just like me-"

"Enough!" Zayn slams his fist on the table keeping the two apart, fuming, teeth gritted and all. "We had a deal and I didn't hear one single question in any of that bullshit you just spewed so either ask me something or so help me god I will put a bullet in your head and find someone else who will give me what I want."

It takes a while and a lot of silent tension before Harry rips his gaze away from Zayn's with a grunt, tapping his fingers against the desk once again.

"How were you communicating with the bureau."

"Microchips. I had surgery and a chip was implanted into my brain, then connected wirelessly to the one in my ear canal. That's why I was gone so long after the crash. I had no major injuries, just had to get the chips removed then it took another two weeks to recover. Same technology we used to track Louis."

And Harry's head snaps up to meet Zayn's eyes, chest rising and falling quicker than before. "Excuse me?"

"I provoked Louis into a fight one afternoon that you'd left." Zayn elaborates and Harry shakes his head in anger remembering the night he'd discovered the row of stitches on Louis' lifeless body in the morgue.

"You threw a bottle of wine at him.." Harry mumbles softly, still trying to piece everything together. "What did you do..?" Harry's vision goes blurry as he stares at the man sitting across from him, that stoic expression back on his face. "What did you do Zayn?!"

"The anesthetic I used before stitching him up was actually just gel. It contained small microbeads that when injected they acted as a microchip, letting us track him the second he got out of the house."

"Oh God.. you killed my best friend.." Harry breathes heavily, giving a harsh tug at his hair as he looks everywhere at the room but into Zayn's eyes as anger boils inside him.

"And you killed mine. We're even." Zayn keeps his focus on Harry who's hands have begun to shake again before he opens his mouth to speak in the least sympathetic tone Harry had ever heard. "Harry you're going to have another panic attack-"

"You planned all of this." Harry seethes, glaring daggers into Zayn's own eyes. "Me taking you, you knew how to fight me off, you let me take you. You let Caleb take advantage of you, you kept trying to escape so I would think you never wanted to be there in the first place, that you were just a damsel in distress, that I was in control, you played me.."

"You're not the first big bad wolf I've reduced to nothing Harry, and you won't be the last." Zayn states confidently and Harry mumbles the first few words to himself over and over again. 'You're not the first'

"Aaron.." Harry widens his eyes as a broken gasp escapes his parted lips. He shakes his head slowly because he doesn't want to believe the one person he'd thought was the only shred of good in his life was capable of so much evil. "He didn't kill himself.." And Zayn doesn't deny it. In fact he doesn't say a word, just sits there and stares at the man he'd reduced to an anxious mess. The only thing the men standing behind that one way glass could think was boy was Zayn good at his job. "You're sick."

"Should i have to remind you how many people you've killed? I mean I've got an unfinished list if you want a copy-"

"Like you fucking give a shit about them!" Harry raises his voice and Zayn growls, finally revealing the one thing he'd never stopped thinking about.

"I would die before I let you get away with killing that little girl." The room falls silent. Zayn is fuming and Harry narrows his eyes with a shake of his head.

"You think- you think I killed Grace?" And Harry begins to laugh dryly, tears in his eyes. Zayn just keeps looking at him confused, his angry demeanour beginning to falter "I put her to sleep yeah, she'd been crying all day. I called child services, yeah her family clearly didn't give a shit about her or her needs. But I never took that little girl's life."

Zayn's taken aback as he simply stares into the forest green eyes across from him, fingers dug into his palm to contain his relief. When the timer hits 0:00:00, the door opens to reveal a different blonde with a sympathetic smile on his face along with two men who Harry was guessing had come to take him. Zayn slides a blank sheet of paper and blue pen across the table to which without hesitation, Harry jots down the address to a demolished building in New York. He returns the paper and pen without a word but when Zayn goes to get up he feels a cold grip on his wrist, turning to be met with a pair of heartbroken amber eyes.

"Did you ever love me? Everything that went on in Cheshire, was any of it real?" Harry asks quietly and feels his bottom lip quiver when Zayn slides his hand out of the older man's grip.

"Not even for a moment."


	24. Chapter 24

"I guess this is it then." Harry speaks as he's being escorted through the building to the chopper waiting on the roof to fly him to Guantanamo. Zayn's behind him for some reason, holding on to his already cuffed wrists as Chris - the blonde Harry had grown to despise once he'd gotten a glance of him and Zayn getting a little too intimate - searches for his card key. "I hope daddy finally tells you 'good job my son. you've caught the most wanted man in America now go, suck dick as you please, you have my blessing.'" Harry reenacts dramatically to which he receives a tug at his chains with a grunt from the younger man.

"Hey I think I forgot my key card, you guys go ahead yeah? I'll meet you there." Chris gives Zayn a small smile before turning to jog back to the interrogation room quickly.

"I can guess why Zayn over here doesn't have his key card, he's just gotten back on the job but why don't you lot have cards or are you all just goons?" Harry asks around curiously at the men in gear surrounding him holding assault rifles.

"For fucks sake, shut up." Zayn grunts and Harry feels a familiar touch against his own fingertips. That's when Zayn uncurls his fingers to reveal his pale palm and traces a small heart before folding them into a fist again. Harry's heart is pounding when he stares ahead, trying not to show it but he'd gotten the message loud and clear.

My heart is yours.

That's when Zayn steps back slowly but merely an inch, bringing Harry along with him to a blind spot the security camera can never cover during its sweep. Harry's lips tug up in a smile when he feels the handcuffs loosen their grip on his wrists and before anyone realizes, Harry's got one of Zayn's guns in his hands.

"Hey dumbass," Harry calls to which Zayn rolls his eyes because then they've got the attention of the entire escort team, their rifles ready and all.

"Harry you're so-" Zayn groans, giving Harry a look of annoyance. They were meant to get away subtly but Zayn forgot Harry had a flare for dramatics.

"Put the guns down. We don't want to hurt you Zayn." One of the men speaks loudly, gun pointed directly at Harry.

"I'm literally standing right here, like at this point you're just hurting my feelings." Harry rambles, and Zayn just grunts, pulling down his safety to put a bullet in four heads before anyone can even blink. There's just one man standing and he looks like more of a boy really. Zayn steps towards the noticeably shaking man, finger on his trigger and a sad smile on his lips.

"You're new aren't you." Zayn speaks and the man nods slowly, everyone still standing knows he won't pull the trigger. "I'm Zayn nice to meet you.."

"Jason. I'm a really big fan of you- what you do- like your skills, I mean you just shot four guys in like 2 seconds." He rambles and Zayn gives him a charming smile.

"Well Jason, I really hope you don't hate me for this." Zayn twists his mouth to the side before locking his safety and slams the butt of the gun to the side of Jason's skull, the man's body falling to the floor immediately. Zayn sighs and slips his gun back in its holster before walking off in the same direction they'd came. "Are you coming or not?" He calls when he notices Harry isn't following behind and groans when there's no answer, stopping in his tracks to turn around. "We are not doing this here Harry."

"Why the sudden change of heart? Is it Grace?" The older man strides up to him with a curious look on his dumb face and Zayn does not have time for this.

"I'd always planned on bailing you out, can we go now."

"Why?"

"Jesus fuck because I love you, is that what you want to hear?!" Zayn raises his voice to which Harry just shrugs casually with a nod.

"Yeah pretty much." Harry grins cheekily, teeth caught in his bottom lip as he leans in to nudge his nose against Zayn's gently. "I knew you were real."

"You're unbelievable." Zayn mumbles against Harry's plump lips with a smile, arms snaking around his neck before the two press their lips together in a kiss.

"Put your guns down and step back, I won't ask again!" When the loud voice rings in the couples ears, neither flinch or break away from the kiss for that matter. In fact, Harry licks into Zayn's mouth greedily, hand finding his hip as he squeezes the skin gently and Zayn whips out his pistol from it's holster, pulling down the safety and shoots. He's not sure if he hit his target, I mean his eyes are closed but then again Zayn never misses.

"Can we go now?" Zayn mumbles, pulling back from the kiss hesitantly to which Harry turns his head to take a look at the lifeless body at their feet, bullet sized hole in his neck.

"Fine but I'm not okay with the fact that I haven't killed anyone yet.

"Oh spare me the dramatics." Zayn rolls his eyes and walks off down an empty corridor.

 

"Here." Zayn reaches behind him to grab the pale folder sitting on the backseat before tossing it onto Harry's lap, eyes still on the road. Harry doesn't say anything, just gives him a confused look and grabs a hold of the roof handle when Zayn drifts onto an empty road then accelerates his speed. "Your case file."

Harry doesn't hesitate then to flip open the folder, going through it's contents with furrowed brows. His family history, medical history, every location he'd been spotted, everything was there, if Harry took a shit it was written down. He stops when he gets to the incident that'd ended with 14 year old Harry losing both his fathers. "Where did you get this."

"They're all mine, I do a lot of research before going out into the field. Everything on what happened to Des and Andrew, that is my own case I built, it's all just based off evidence, nobody else knows what really happened." Zayn gives Harry a quick look to find that he'd shut the folder and was now biting down on his knuckles, staring intently at the dashboard. "Harry I know you didn't kill Andrew.. and I know you never meant to hurt your father-"

"Oh I fucking meant it." Harry stops him coldly before dropping his hand. "That man was.. He was evil Zayn, fuck."

"Hey," Zayn reaches down blindly to take Harry's hand in his carefully, their fingers locking instantly. "You were just trying to protect Drew, it's not your fault it was too late Harry you were just a kid." Harry's jaw clenches when he feels tears at the brim of his eyes, and sniffles angrily with a squeeze of Zayn's hand.

 

When they enter the motel parking lot, Harry unbuckles his seatbelt and hops out of the car, the couple parting ways to get on with what they'd planned. Zayn would call the motel manager to file a complaint thus leaving the front desk unoccupied. Meanwhile, Harry's job was to make his way to the front desk and find an empty room in the guest book.

"Clyde" Harry mumbles with a smirk as he scribbles the name into an empty slot then grabs the corresponding key, jogging back outside with a whistle. He makes his way up the stairs to find their bedroom, while Zayn finds a way to get rid of their getaway car.

Zayn grabs a screw gun from the trunk of the car to remove the license plate quickly. He winces when even on it's lowest setting, the gun is making an unbelievable amount of noise. They were going to get caught because Zayn didn't want to spend an extra $15 on a quieter screw gun. When he's done, he walks across the lot to a white Prius, removing it's license plate to replace it with his own. "Who drives a Prius all the way from California?" Zayn's face contorts in confusion as he reads the new license plate before shrugging and repeats the process with three other cars. Some would think it's tedious and yes absolutely unnecessary but Zayn and his fists beg to differ.

Heading down the hallway, Zayn reaches the room number Harry had texted to his disposable cellphone before knocking on the door.

"Harry? It's Zayn." He speaks quietly, and furrows his brows when there's no answer. Zayn calls his name twice more before deciding to pick the lock quickly, barging into an empty room. "Harry..?" He feels a familiar arm wrap around his neck in a choke hold from behind before his own gun is tossed onto the floor across the room. Zayn attempts to get out of the grip but then the feeling of cold metal against his temple forces him to freeze instantly. "You played me."

"I learned from the best." Harry responds coldly, and cocks the gun.

 

(flashback)

"you are a worthless excuse for a human being, a fucking waste of space, I should have left so long ago. Taken my damn son with me." Des growls low in his throat, fingers tightening around his partner's neck and gun in his free hand.

"I told you, I didn't make that call! Des please," Andrew chokes back a sob, looking up into the murderous eyes that are glaring down into his own. "Harry's asleep please, let's talk about this tomorrow.." That's when he feels the air quite literally get knocked out of his lungs as he's slammed against the wall for the fourth time that night, his vision covered in black spots.

"Don't act like you care about my son, Andrew. If you did, you wouldn't be spewing bullshit out of that disgusting mouth of yours." Des cocks his gun quickly bringing it to his boyfriend's forehead who's now crying violently, body shaking against the wall. "Do you know what they'll do to him if I go to jail? Hm? You sure as hell can't take care of him, look at you, you're a mess. He'll end up in the system and god fucking knows nobody cares for that boy the way I do."

"P-please, Des please don't"

"I don't want to hurt you D, you mean the world to me. I've never loved anyone like I do you but I've gotta take care of my boy Drew." Des shakes his head then rests his pointer finger on the trigger of the gun. "So I'm giving you one more chance. Did you or did you not call the feds on my men."

"I did." Andrew confesses, eyes tearing up again as Des' eyes fall shut in anger. "You can't live your life like this Des. Committing murder for money. Harry cannot grow up into this lifestyle, I won't let you teach him to kill."

Even though Des pulled the trigger once, two shots were fired that night. When he releases Andrew's lifeless body and stumbles to turn around, bullet lodged in the back of his neck, he gets a glimpse of the young boy stood on the staircase. Gun in shaking hand and look of horror on his face, Harry slowly makes his way down the stairs once his father drops to the floor, blood spreading onto the tiles. The boy drops the gun, both hands running through his hair with tears in his eyes when his gaze lands on Andrew, bullet hole in his forehead and eyes still wide open. He leans back against the wall, hands still shaking before sliding down to the floor slowly as a broken sob escapes his lips. Finally bursting into tears uncontrollably, Harry crawls over to Drew slowly to close his terror filled eyes. That's when he notices the rosary. Undoing the clasp, he slides the necklace off of Andrew's neck carefully and locks it around his own before curling up on the floor beside his father's boyfriend. The light in Harry's eyes fade into nothing right before they fall shut when he realizes. He'd just killed a man.


	25. Chapter 25

"You know I can take that gun from you right?" Zayn states from where he's sat on the twin bed, watching Harry through his eyelashes intently. He's hovering over Zayn. A pistol in his hands and pointed straight at space between Zayn's eyes. Harry scoffs at the statement, but scowls when Zayn uses the heel of his palm to slam against the back of Harry's hand, slipping the gun into his own. Zayn then opens the chamber, letting the bullets fall to the floor and tosses the gun back to Harry. "And in the time it takes you to pick up those bullets, I would be miles away from this place but I did something awful, you get to be angry and I'm tired of fist fights."

"You're acting as if all you did was leave my bedroom door open, you destroyed my family and you stabbed me in the back Zayn." Harry narrows his eyes at the man that's not even a little bit distraught about the chaos he'd caused. "I had a responsibility to protect every single one of those men and I let a sex addict with daddy issues get the best of me."

"First of all, those men knew what they were doing when they walked into that house, they're responsible for their own actions and you don't owe them shit. And I'm gonna pretend the very sociopathic killer that kidnapped me for sex didn't just call me a sex addict with daddy issues." Zayn rolls his eyes because he's tired of Harry dragging this on and acting as if Zayn was the only one at fault here. It's like the blood on Harry's hands seems to always avoid being the topic of interest. "What do you want from me H? What is all this meant to accomplish?"

And Harry won't lie he feels a wave of emotion wash over him when Zayn uses that nickname he'd grown fond of. "I want you to tell me something true."

"We've gone over this-"

"We talked about how you played me. I want the truth about who you are, what you feel, I want something true, not something I wanna hear-"

"I can't give you that." Zayn stops Harry because he knows what the older man is asking for and he refuses to open anymore scars.

"You risked handing me in to the FBI just so you could break me out for the sake of our relationship and you won't tell me one fact about you? Are you fucking serious?"

"Harry this isn't how shit works, you can't just force me to tell you my story like this is some sort of interrogation- will you please put the gun down?" Zayn gestures at the pistol that's pointed at him once again, giving Harry a look that's genuine but borderline manipulative. "Please? So we can talk like normal couples?"

"We're not normal."

"We could be?" Zayn tilts his head with a small smile when Harry's frown fades and he shifts his eyes so he's no longer looking at his boyfriend. "Get an apartment, some pets? Go on diets and workout together, all that cheesy garbage? And hey, if you stick around maybe we'll get a kid."

"Yeah I think it's best we don't bring anyone else into our chaotic relationship." Harry chuckles, prompting Zayn to laugh as well and when Harry brings his hands down to his sides, the younger man is gesturing quietly for him to sit down. "How do you do it?" Harry turns his head to look into those whiskey brown eyes staring back at him intently. "Make me put my guard down so easily."

Zayn just shrugs because even though he does and always has had that effect on people, he's still not sure how. "But if it makes you feel any better, you're the first person that's made me feel the same way." He offers Harry a small smile and leans in, Harry's gaze shifting to Zayn's lips before the latter presses a light kiss to his cheek lovingly.

"Let's start over." Harry murmurs once Zayn pulls away in confusion and feels a smile on his lips when Harry sticks his hand out for a handshake.

"Hi, I'm Zayn. Zayn Malik." He laughs, shaking Harry's hand firmly who greets him as well.

"I'm Harry Styles.." He gives a cheeky grin before tilting his head slightly, eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, haven't I.. haven't I seen you somewhere?"

"You know now that I think about it, I've seen you somewhere as well." Zayn tilts his head, mocking Harry and tries not to burst into laughter. "Aren't you on the FBI's most wanted list?" 

"Yup, that's the one and I totally fucked your dad, yeah I saw you in the family photo when I was leaving last nigh-"

"Harry!" Zayn laughs loudly, smacking Harry's bicep to which the older man just wraps his arm around his boy, bringing his body closer to plant a kiss on his temple.

"This is a weird first encounter, I've never had a stranger kiss my forehead before." Zayn contemplates loudly and Harry just buries his nose in the soft jetblack hair beneath him, a grin planted on his face.

"Yeah well, I feel like I've known you my whole life."


	26. Chapter 26

"God don't stop" Zayn moans into the mattress, eyes closed but lips parted and fingers tangling in the sheets to fist them tightly as Harry takes him from behind aggressively.

"You think you can throw me under the bus you fucking worthless piece of shit for a boyfriend." Harry growls as he fists the younger man's hair, tugging his lover up off the mattress and curling the same fingers around his throat tightly. The words should hurt Zayn, they really should but they go straight to his cock and he groans louder, feeling the tip of Harry's cock just barely graze his prostate. They'd been at it for nearly three hours now; Harry releasing all his pent up anger and Zayn taking it with pleasure. He won't let Zayn cum and the Pakistani man is afraid he never will and he's heard every name in the book come out of Harry's mouth but at this point it was more of a turn on how angry he was. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Harry bends over to graze his lips against Zayn's ear once he slows down to simply hard strokes, Zayn whimpering in response, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. "Letting me take your ass all day, over and over, never fucking stop"

"Don't want you to" Zayn tilts his head back against Harry's shoulder, hands reaching back to tangle in the long chocolate curls draping over his boyfriend's face.

"No?"

"ngh god—" Zayn gasps, falling back onto the mattress once Harry is rocking his hips into him quickly again, beads of sweat making their way down his flushed neck as he squeezes his eyes shut, broken moans escape his lips. "fuck... yes pound my ass." Zayn growls into the mattress as his body rocks so quickly he has to cling to the sheets to keep from moving up on the bed. Harry can't help but moan at the sight of the beautiful boy beneath him, sheets now between his teeth to keep from screaming so loudly, their neighbours call the front desk. But then he remembers why they're here in the first place and grabs at a fistful of his boyfriend's jet black hair again, bringing him back up so their bodies are mere inches apart.

The sound of the bed springs in the mattress creaking, the headboard against the wall and Harry's pelvis against his ass cheeks are too much for Zayn. His stomach is tightening for the third time that day and he needs a release. "I'm close, I'm so close H please.." And Harry responds in the filthiest, gruff tone Zayn had ever heard, he was sure he's about to pass out.

"Please what?"

"Make me cum, make me your bitch" Zayn grits through his teeth as his toes begin to curl in on themselves, waves of pleasure hitting him all at once as Harry gives him just what he wants, angling his hips to hit Zayn's prostate repeatedly and watching the boy choke out gasps of pleasure, reaching a hand back to dig his fingertips into Harry's bicep roughly. "Fuck I love you"

"I fucking hate your guts." Harry growls back, burying his face in the crook of Zayn's neck as his own orgasm hits him intensely.

~

"Let's start over." Zayn mumbles, eyes searching Harry's own intently as he plays with the damp curls of his now ex boyfriend? He's not sure but he doesn't want to think about it or else he'll throw up. They're laying in bed naked, bodies tangled and lips centimetres apart as they just stare into each other's eyes for what seems to be ages. Until Harry rolls his own green ones irritably.

"Isn't that what we're doing? You're gonna fly me to Spain then fuck right off. Clean slate for both of us." He shrugs his shoulders, giving Zayn a stoic expression but the younger of the two just frowns back, dropping his hands from the head of curls in disappointment.

"I mean like us together Harry-"

"You ruined my god damn life, there is no us." Harry spits with a look of disgust on his face before standing up from the bed, shaking his head as he puts on the sweatpants he'd thrown on the floor pre the whole three hours of sex thing. "You know what it's not even about that, it's about the fact that I can't trust you with anything whatsoever."

"I was doing my job—"

"You betrayed me!" Harry exclaims with angry eyes staring daggers into Zayn's own. If looks could kill. "You betrayed me, you betrayed all those men, we let you into our home! We trusted you."

"You killed thousands of people, you are not a victim here." Zayn grits through his teeth, standing up from the bed, walking up to the taller man. "Those families deserved closure, I told you that during your interrogation so don't you dare stand there and act as if your broken heart is above the millions of lives you've reduced to nothing." And Harry shakes his head, running a hand through his hair to keep them from his eyes before looking down, a frown on his lips. "Look, I was— I was going to cut off all communication with my team at one point." Zayn admits, prompting Harry to furrow his brows, tilting his head up to look at Zayn a little unconvinced before gesturing for him to continue. "When we went to that little cove back in Holmes Chapel and we got all fucked up, I decided I was going to tell Leo about the chip in my head and have him remove it; tell you I bashed my head in or something and needed surgery I don't know but I didn't want to be a part of the mission anymore, I loved you and it felt so wrong Harry but I changed my mind after what happened with that little girl, I thought you took her life and I couldn't let you go down that road H."

"You sound like my mother." Harry snorts out a laugh, Zayn giving him a slight chuckle before walking up to the older man, cupping his jaw tenderly.

"You were going to get caught eventually, if it wasn't by me it was going to be somebody else but I couldn't let them take you, I planned to break you out weeks before the interrogation because I want you to have a life that isn't your father's, I want us to have a life together. I've never felt anything even remotely close to love for anyone Harry.. You're the one person that makes me feel human.."

"That was very romantic, I bet I can top that." Harry jokes, resting his hand over his boyfriend's that's against his cheek and laces their fingers, dimples protruding his cheeks as he grins helplessly down at the younger man. "But you're the only person that has seen good in me and made an effort to bring that out; to give me a better life so thank you, thanks for that." Zayn smiles fondly, tilting his head as Harry shifts on his feet with a slight nod. "Let's start over.. you know, together and whatever."

"How sincere," Zayn says sarcastically, chuckling helplessly and Harry rolls his eyes pulling away from the embrace.

"Well that's all you're gonna get, my cum is already in your ass give me a break." Harry puts up his hands in defence heading towards their room door because he's starving after all that sex and Zayn laughs hysterically, before picking up his clothes that are scattered across the floor.

"Hey," Harry says in a soft tone, lips tugging up in a smile as he's leaning back against the door, both hands folded behind his back and Zayn looks up through his eyelashes with curiosity. "I love you too."


End file.
